Spark of a Soul
by ThatOneDwarf
Summary: Given a second chance after being on the street for 12 years of his life, Ash Ketchum looks to dispel the darkness lingering in his soul, while trying to find his parents murders. To do so though, he must sign up with the famous Team Rocket, and be trained under the keen eye of Domino, to become the thief Giovanni had been waiting for.
1. Soul of a Thief

**Chapter One**

Soul of a Thief

* * *

It was a strange sight, seeing your reflection in a mirror and not recognizing the person staring back. In his heart of hearts he believed his soul could still be salvaged, even though his past, as dark and grim as it was, filled with hate, there was a small, untouched piece of him that could be brought into the daylight.

It was never on his own accord that his life, this life of running, hiding, death and destruction, was the way it was.

He remembered, faintly, but remembered far back into the day's of his childhood where he dreamed of becoming a _Pokemon Trainer_. The two words alone should have let him crack a weary smile. But his lips remained a stretched thin line.

But at eighteen, a man forced to grow up early due to his parents murder. A murder in which the blame was thrown onto him, no matter how far fetched it sounded.

A murder which sent him along a dark path to find his parents killers, the life of a thief, a criminal, a fugitive.

A fugitive indeed.

A fugitive of twelve years.

Twelve years of pickpocketing, living under bridges and in ditches, breaking into stores so that he didn't starve or freeze to death. Constantly on the run so that Officer Jenny's wouldn't toss him in the slammer, God knows how many run-in he's had with em.'

He had grown up without a childhood, teaching himself how to fend for himself in the wild and back alley ways. Where scum and druggies would try and _do him in_. Try to get him to _get a fix_ or _run up _ a convenient store for cash.

He'd been tempted at times, not knowing what LSD or cocaine were. What would happen if you did shots of vodka at the age of eight. Rapists, murders, escaped convicts, burglars, he'd been amongst the likes of them in the shitter, more then he would care to admit.

Not his proudest moments.

Definitely not.

But they shaped him, yes. Yes it did, showed him how to turn crack heads and bums in for rewards so that he could buy honestly. So that he could _pay_ for a new pair of sneakers, without pulling off the tags and switching the shoes out in a change room.

So that he didn't go to an indoor pool and pay a ten dollar fee so he could get into the locker rooms and break into occupied lockers for wallets, shirts, deodorant... He'd done a lot.

He hated it all, he really did. Getting high in some rundown warehouse with six others. Hopping cargo trains in the dead of night. Getting in fights over a bottle of whiskey...

This was his life.

The life of a junkie, a bum, someone who never had a fair chance in life due to some... Outrageous claim that a _six_ year old, murdered his parents...

The man in question, was tall, tanned, and in dire need of a shave.

He reached out to touch the mirror, his dark brown eyes staring ashamed at his reflection. Long black hair, reaching past his shoulders, and dangling ridiculously in front of his eyes. His right eye sported a nasty scar, one in which he got for snatching a ten grams of coke off a dealer.

A thick, bushy dark beard was dust ridden, greasy, tangled... He hadn't shaved in six months, his knife had been jacked unknowingly by a bum he was sharing a freight with on his way to Saffron.

And then there was his clothing.

A ripped, stained, torn, ragged trench coat that had seen him through many rough times, while under neath was a mostly yellow shirt, which had been originally white. His jeans, torn at the knees, damp with mud and gunk.

His shoes, brown and gray sneakers, smelled absolutely foul, with his recent venture in the sewers to get away from a Jenny who was after him for pawning a bike he had stolen the day before.

Overall he looked like a cross between a bum who had reasonable funds, but spent it all on crack and shots...

His hand fell to the sink beneath the mirror, a razor, toothbrush, hand towels, a shower, toilet... All though were at his disposal at the moment. For the first time in years, he had the luxury of hot water, clean clothing. And if he had heard correctly, a hot meal not from a dumpster.

So he was thankful, thankful to the men in black who picked him off the street and brought him to this office building where they said they would feed, clothe, and wash him... He still had no idea _why_ he was here.

But if this _Team Rocket,_ kept this up. He'd do just bout anything they asked of him. Specially if it they gave him a bed to sleep in, heck even a couch cushion would be better then a wheel-less shopping cart with half a tarp covering him.

He'd learn soon enough, and he wasn't in all to much of a hurry anyways.

He wanted to look good for this Mr. Giovanni Viridian, seeing as how he was the one who had requested that he be brought here for whatever reason.

It was the least he could do for the man.

* * *

**I went to continue writing for AOP, but couldn't get a flow going so I opened a new doc. and just wrote blindly.**

**And unknowingly, it turned into a new story idea, one in which I'm going to continue on with.  
**

**Chapter's should be no longer then 2K words, keeping updates frequent in the down time between AOP + AGP chapter uploads.  
**

**Now as a question, since I'm only on the second chapter, which Pokemon should Ash train with? Should he stick with Pikachu, or should he be given a completely different Pokemon? And if so, which would you like to see?  
**

**Enough of this now, thank you for taking a look at this story, and please feel free to drop in a review.  
**

**I'll see ya next time!  
**


	2. Meeting the Boss

**Chapter Two**

Meeting The Boss

* * *

The clothing he had been supplied with was absolute heaven. Warm, clean, cotton, and with a one hundred thread count! It was just unbelievable, a nice new white T, jeans, and the whitest pair of sneakers known to man!

So freshly showered, clean shaved, teeth brushed thrice, he was now following two more men in black through the office building.

A lot of the workers wore black sweatshirts and sweatpants with a large red _R_ on the front. Strange uniform, but he wasn't one to judge. Seeing as how he had lived on the street the past twelve years.

The white tiled floors were speck free, dangling ceiling lights, with _florescent_ light bulbs! Good lord this place was top notch, fine leather sofas, and a cozy reception area, apparently where he was currently being led to.

One of the two men in black gestured for him to take a seat. And he did so without question, he almost died as he sunk into the cushions. If God slept in a bed, he was damned sure it would be just as soft as this sofa.

He watched as the two men spoke with the receptionist, who was wearing a dress jacket and tight skirt. Black of course to go with the entire uniform thing, she even sported a nifty little red _R_ pin just above her left breast.

One of the men in black came over to him and offered him a polite smile, something in which he attempted to return, as he had not done it in years.

"Well Mr. Ketchum how are you fairing?" He asked curiously.

"Well fantastic thanks to you all, but I've got to ask as to why you'd invite... Well _me_ here, not that I'm not thankful and all... It's just a little odd."

The man in black laughed kindheartedly, "It's quite alright, Tim and I," He jerked a thumb at the other man who was still conversing with the receptionist, "Are going to head out, you just need to wait here and Lindsey there will tell you when it's alright to go in and see the Boss."

He nodded in understanding, "Thank you both again for bringing me here,"

Tim finished speaking to Lindsey and turned to him, "No problem at all Ash, we'll see you around later. Maybe by you a drink once your meeting is over with,"

Now he was being offered drinks!? "I'd like that very much," He replied attempting to crack half a smile, it came off as more of a grimace, but neither of the two seemed to mind in the least, "I'll see you two around."

The thing is, for the rest of his days, Ash Ketchum would never again lay another eye on the two men in black whose names were Tim and Johnny.

As the two left, he was left alone with Lindsey the receptionist in the small waiting room. He was tempted to go talk with the brunette, but decided not to so that he didn't distract her from her work.

He listened contently as her fingers danced over her keyboard, and the occasional click of a mouse. A radio was just audible, playing quiet jazz in the otherwise peaceful room.

His head turned to the brunette as she said his name, "Excuse me Ash," She smiled warmly at him, and he attempted to smile back. The strain on his cheek bones was becoming unbearable, "Mr. Viridian would like to speak with you now," With a slight flourish of her arm she gestured to the large oak door, "He'll be right through that door,"

He nodded standing up, "Thank you." He replied going over to the door. Hesitantly, he brought up a fist and knocked thrice on the door, the dull _thud thud thud_ queerly loud before he twisted the golden knob and entered the spacious office.

His eyes roamed briefly over the decor, pictures of landscapes hung on the wall, providing the room with color. Bookshelves, and a television were positioned behind a desk currently occupied by who he had no doubt was Giovanni Viridian, at his side was a rather large feline with a coin on its forehead, and a pretty young blond woman, wearing an outfit similar to Tim and Johnny, but with a skirt and exposed midriff.

"Ah Ash welcome!" Giovanni stood up from his seat and held his hand out over the desk.

"Oh umm hello Mr. Viridian sir, it's a pleasure to meet you,"

"Please take a seat, we do have much to discuss."

"If you uh," He cleared his throat awkwardly, "If you don't mind I have some questions as well,"

"Yes yes of course, no doubt wondering as to why I've brought you here?"

"Yes sir-"

"No need for formalities Ash, Giovanni will due. Now as to why I've asked for you to be here," He started in a business like tone, Ash sat up straight and gave the man his full attention, "You've lived a hard life." It was a statement, not a question so he remained silent, "What happened with your mother and father was truly offal, and what the police decided to claim afterward..." Giovanni scowled in disgust, "Idiots they are for calling you a murderer,"

"You don't... You don't believe the reports?" He asked quietly, near everyone had believed that he had stabbed his parents in their sleep, before going back to his bed and falling asleep, their blood still on his hands.

"Of course not!" He exclaimed, "A six year old boy, barely old enough to wield such a tool itself, to drive it into his parents back is preposterous!"

Ash kept quiet, when Professor Samuel Oak and his grandson Gary showed up for a playdate, the Professor had entered their home and found the two lifeless bodies of his parents, before coming to check on him where the blood was all to clear on his person.

"What does..." He cleared his throat, "What do my mum and dad have to do with this?"

Giovanni grinned at him, and he felt a little more secure, "Well you see Ash," He started kindly, "What happened to you was tragic, you were lucky to get away when you did. Otherwise you would have been sent to a Juvenile facility, and than thrown on the streets. If you had survived that long that is. But what you went through, took away your chances at having a normal life. So I would like to offer you a job,"

It took a full minute for his words to sink in. A-A job!?

"Y-You want to offer me a... Job?" He asked incredulously, "B-But why?"

Giovanni smiled easily, "You see Ash, you have skills that aren't... Acquired through work such as being a waiter or cashier. Your skills run along the line of street smarts, and to go off of experience rather then by the book. We here at Team Rocket look for people like you, people smart, people who have a different skill set other then working in an office and taking peoples orders."

"And what... _Skills_ do I possess, I've been nothing but a-a-a junkie and bum all my life!"

"Ah," He said slowly, "But your a fast thinker yes, your stealthy, creative, a damn good thief yes?"

Ashs eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "How do you know I'm a thief?"

"We've kept an eye on you for some time son, you've been an interest to us for some time now. So I'm offering you a job, you'll be paid, and have a room to stay in during your training,"

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked slowly.

"Of course!"

"What exactly is... Team Rocket?"

Giovanni nodded to himself at the question, "Of course, Team Rocket is a global corporation who... Capture and sell Pokemon and rare artifacts for profit, we also train our recruits to be skilled Pokemon Trainers who-"

"Pokemon Trainers!" He interrupted excitedly.

"Yes, our Trainers enter competitions, liberate Pokemon from abusive Trainers and send them off to someone who will train them with care and love."

"So I'd be... A liberator?"

"Not quite, you'd be one of our... Thieves, we locate abusive Trainers and we'll send you out to recover their Pokeballs in secret, once that is done, you bring them here and we'll set them free or allow them to be, as I said before, sent to someone who would care for them."

This was his second chance at life, get away from the life of drugs, booze, thievery to do something good for the world.

"I accept," Said Ash, a glimmer of hope entering his eyes.

Giovanni turned to the blond, "Ash, Domino here will be your teacher. She'll train you to improve your already impressive skills. But this is no easy task," He warned, "This is very physically demanding work, and will be exhausting."

Ash looked between the two, Domino's light violet eyes watching him intently, "That's okay, it'll be rough... But I've been through hell, so this really shouldn't be anything new."

Giovanni's lips turned into a grin, and Domino's eyes flickered briefly with approval, "Excellent Ash, excellent!" He turned to Domino, "If you could Domino, would you please escort Mr. Ketchum to his quarters and ready him for tomorrow?"

The blond gave him a slight bow, "Yes sir," Ash couldn't help but notice how pleasing her voice sounded, light, warm, cheery.

"Good, now Ash take care, and sleep well tonight. You've got a long day ahead of you."

Ash stood up with a grin and stuck out his hand, "Yes Sir, and thank you again from the bottom of my heart, this really means the world to me. You giving me a second chance at a normal life."

Giovanni took his hand and they shook firmly, "No problem at all, now off with you two. And I'll see you off in the morning."

As Domino led Ash out, and the door closed firmly behind the pair, Giovanni grinned deviously, Delia and Jason's son would be a fine addition to his Elites, and with Domino teaching him...

The Pokemon World wouldn't know what hit em.'

* * *

**Thanks for reading and please feel free to drop in a review!**


	3. An Examination

**Chapter Three**

An Examination

* * *

He couldn't recall as to how he arrived there. One minute he's scaling a manhole, the next two men dressed in black casually stroll over and ask, _"Excuse me sir, would you happen to be Ash Ketchum?"_

He would go and wipe a filthy hand across his forehead, dragging his greasy bangs out of his eyes, before replying with, "_Who's askin?"_

The two would go on to laugh, not scornfully, not sketchily, but a genuine laugh, in which they replied, _"We are here on behalf of a Mr. Giovanni Viridian, we'd like to bring you over to his office so that you can clean yourself up, and get a hot meal in ya."_

"_Waz he want from me?"_

"_That's between you and the Boss,"_ The one on the left replied, _"So what do you say?"_

Seeing as how he had just gotten off of a two hour pursuit in the sewers, he figured, if what these two had said were true, then to clean himself up and a warm meal would do wonders for him. It would also be a prime opportunity to lay low for a few hours as well.

And it had, he'd been magically teleported from the back alley where the manhole was, into a washroom, where he had been told to take his time and clean himself up.

Followed by his meeting with Mr. Viridian, who was a wonderful man for offering him a job. And as somewhat of a Pokemon Trainer!? He was just to generous!

And now here he was the following morning, curled up on a cot, covers held snugly under his chin, as his door was gently opened.

"Ash?" The voiced that called his name was the same pleasant tone he had heard in Giovanni's office the day before, "It's time for us to go."

His eyes flickered open and caught the patient stare of Domino's violet eyes watching him, "Course'," He mumbled as he sat himself up. He'd do as she said without question, they were giving him a chance and he wasn't about to blow it.

"Where," He yawned, stretching his arms above his head before continuing, "Where are we off to?"

Her gaze was steady, but not unnerving. Taking a step into his room, she flaunted the clipboard she held in her hand, "We've got to give you an examination, seeing as how you've been out on the streets. You must be malnourished, possibly infected as you haven't been given proper medical care, we basically want to make sure you're going to be ready for training."

He was nodding along as she spoke, he certainly was malnourished. And if he was correct, she'd be seeing that rather soon.

Getting up off of his bed, he gestured to the door, "After you."

And so he trailed after her, eyes glancing at every little thing. There was quite a lot of loose valuables he noticed, laptops alone on tables, fancy books that looked to be worth a pretty penny...

But he wouldn't pocket anything, even if the wallet's peeping out from passing workers pockets eyed him with temptation. He had to get past that, and get past that he would.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, and Domino looked over her shoulder at him, "Question Ash?"

He nodded, "What umm, what are you going to be, er' _training _ me in exactly?" It was a question he'd been mulling over during the night. Yes Giovanni had said that this training would improve his _skills_, but what that entailed exactly, he wasn't altogether sure.

She slowed her pace so that she was next to him, "You see Ash, you're quick, you're sneaky, devious, and a damned good thief," He listened without interrupting, "What we'll be doing, is turning those skills up a few notches,"

"How so?"

"Well for instance, what is the most expensive thing that you have stolen?"

He'd stolen quite a few things, wallets, watches, jewelry, bikes, a television or two... "We'll I'd suppose that would be when I broke into a jewelry store, and cleared out three display racks before the alarm was triggered... I almost got away, but running across a street, I got clipped by a taxi and sliced my leg open on the bumper."

"Did you get away with what you stole?"

"No, police were near by, and I dropped the bag I had been filling when I got clipped. Everything scattered on the road, so I grabbed a necklace and limped into an alley to hide, saw a drain pipe and climbed onto the roof of a building to keep out of sight for two days before moving on."

"We'll you and I are going to make sure that you get away clean with whatever you're after. No alarms triggered, no police, nothing."

Before he could ask another question, he followed her into a room where treadmills, weights, and a bunch of work out equipment was set around the room. Some connected to monitors, some just on their own.

An older man in a white lab coat came over from a desk with folders tucked neatly under his arm, "Ah 009, and I take it this is to be your new number 8?" He asked curiously.

Domino cast her eyes away from the man and to Ash, examining him briefly until her gaze returned to the man, "There is a high possibility of that Fuji, you understand why I've brought him here?"

Fuji nodded, "Of course, now Ash." He turned his attention away from the blond, "I'll be running you through a series of tests to examine your strength, health, stamina, and some other things. 009 will be assessing you throughout the examination, and will ask you questions in which you _must_ answer. Am I understood?"

The eighteen year old nodded, "Yes sir,"

Fuji regarded him with careful eyes before waving to a chair, "Good now take a seat and I'm going to take a blood sample, seeing as how your medical records have been non-existent for the past twelve years."

So the doctor got to work, checking his blood pressure, taking samples, checking his reflexes.

When it came to the physical part of the examination, Ash was a wreck, "That's four," Domino wrote something down onto her clip board as he tried to push himself up a fifth consecutive time.

When he struggled to do so, Domino told him to switch over to situps, "Six... Seven... Seven then." Jotting something down she requested he go over to check how many pull ups he could accomplish, and with that number being one, he started to feel foolish.

He was sweating heavily, yes he was used to exercise, but without the adrenaline rush he was so used to having from being hunted down and the fear of being thrown into jail, everything was a lot harder to do.

He watched as the blond conversed with Fuji quietly, her eyes darting to him every few moments as she said something of importance.

Pointing to one last thing on her clip board, she and the doctor came over to him, "Ash could you please remove your shirt for us?" She asked kindly.

He did, his arms burning with the movement, but did it none the less.

There was no intake of breath, no surprise as they saw him, "I thought so." She muttered writing another item down.

His arms were scrawny and had little to no muscle on him. She could see the outline of his ribcage perfectly, he looked as if he had been starving himself the past few months.

"Mr. Ketchum," Asked Fuji slowly, "When was the last time you had a decent meal?"

Ash responded immediately, "Last night after Domino showed me to my room."

Fuji conceded the point with a tilt of his head before changing his question to, "When was the last time you had a decent meal _before _last night?"

At this he couldn't answer, his eyes flickered from the ceiling and than to the floor as he tried to recall his last meal... He couldn't remember.

"I-I don't know, I can't remember."

Domino and Fuji shared a look, "Go wash up Ash and we'll get you breakfast. I've got to go have a chat with Giovanni, so take your time and don't hurry alright?"

He attempted again to give her a smile, but once again failed miserably, "Alright," He turned away from the two, giving them a clear sight of his back.

There were burn marks where it look as if cigarettes had been pressed to his skin, and a black lightning bolt tattoo was etched on onto his right shoulder.

"If he finishes before I return, have him brought down to the cafeteria. It's surprising he manged what he did with his lack of muscle."

Fuji turned his gaze away from where Ash had turned a corner into the showers, and brought his attention to the blond, "You're going to have to rebuild him 009," His tone serious, "Keep him away from alcohol at all costs, and have him eat and exercise properly no matter what he says... His body has been damaged, but it is still salvageable. Being patient with him is a must, and encouragement will do him very well."

"Even if it goes against what we believe in, he'll need someone to confide in, and like it or not, with you being his trainer, more likely than not, he'll be coming to you."

"I know what I have to do, he'll be trained, and he'll be ready. I haven't failed an assignment yet." With that she turned on her heel towards the door, she need to have a few words with the Boss.

* * *

**I've got the next chapter finished as well, might throw that up later tomorrow or the day after.  
**

**Until then, fell free to drop in a review, and thanks all of you for reading!  
**


	4. Another Note

**Chapter Four**

Another Note

* * *

When she returned to the examination room, she had been surprised to see Ash waiting patiently for her. Dressed in the Team Rocket uniform, hat and all. "I thought I asked for you to be escorted down to the cafeteria once you were finished?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

Ash opened his mouth to reply, but Fuji answered for him, "He wanted to wait for you, apparently he possess a stubborn side. Something you'll have to break."

Domino regarded the raven haired young man interestedly, being someone who hadn't had a proper meal in months, she would have expected him to be stuffing himself in the cafeteria long before now.

But instead he chose to wait for her.

Interesting.

"Come on then," He got up without a sound and followed after her. Her chat with Giovanni had left her mind turning, when she informed him of Ash's physical capabilities, Giovanni hadn't seemed disappointed in the least.

Apparently, since he was able to get the young man to join their organization without violence, or any threats, this had put him... In an eerily good mood. He had simply told her to have him ready to be taken to Viridian City, where he would be undergoing his training. And to continue to be nice to him, two simple requests.

Yes, keeping up her facade of smiling, and being nonjudgmental of Ash was a tasking job. She understood that in a way, he still had the mind of a child. He hadn't had an education, he hadn't been taught proper manners.

He tried though she noticed as they sat together at a table, he was concentrating terribly on the proper way to hold a knife and fork.

She watched him eat, a cup of coffee held in her hands, as he wiped his mouth with a napkin after almost every bite. How he was not using his hands, or just shoving down food was beyond her.

He was starved, but ate as if he was at a dinner party...

She took her pen and jotted something down, the action she realized drew his attention. But he made no mean as to ask about it.

She jotted another item down, and sipped her coffee.

Her clipboard housed her notes on the black haired young man. Behavior, habits, capabilities, recordings of what she noticed during his examination.

All of this would help her when it came down to his Training, it would allow her to shape him, change him from a junky thief, into an artist who excelled in breaking and entering. Who could vanish into the darkness with a snap of his fingers.

And if he was good enough, she'd teach him how to fight.

Yes, teaching him how to disable targets, and fight off a greater number of attackers in hand to hand combat would be a very useful skill.

Especially if they were going to be partners.

There were two reasons she knew of as to why this junky had been drafted into Team Rocket, as an Elite no less.

Giovanni had for whatever god forsaken reason decided it was time for her to get a partner. Why? She didn't know, she didn't _want_ one. But that wasn't her call.

As for the second, Giovanni had... Year's ago, sent out a thief no less, to eliminate two targets and frame a third.

And those targets had been Ash and his parents. Nobody knew of the real reasoning behind all of this. Nobody except Giovanni that is.

He had, since the death of Delia and Jason Ketchum, kept a watchful eye over Ash as he slunk through the ghetto's, dealed crack, and wasted cash on alcohol.

And she knew now that Giovanni was playing this close to the line, if Ash some day found out about what really happened to his parents after he had completed his training, Giovanni's work would be undone.

Few knew that Ash was to be an Elite, which was to make his life harder during his Training.

The only ones who would know would be her, and a select few who she assigned to teach him basics. Such as reading and writing, she could see now that if he was to do well, he'd need at least the foundations of an education.

She'd make sure he was trained properly though, and on the off chance that she grew to like the kid, and he wasn't a bother than sure; she supposed a partner wouldn't be all that bad.

Her head tilted to the side, he cursed under his breath as a piece of his waffle refused to stay on his fork.

She certainly couldn't help but think, that if she beefed him up a bit, threw on some muscle, that he'd be fairly cute...

She clicked her pen and jotted down another note.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, and please feel free to drop in a review!**


	5. An Odd One

**Chapter Five**

An Odd One

* * *

It was intriguing watching an eighteen year old act as if he was six. With his face plastered against the oval window of the jet, looking onto the passing hills below.

She couldn't help but think that maybe... _Maybe_ she would have a bit of a challenge training her recruit. Seeing as how he was fascinated by every little thing; like riding in cars, luxurious furniture, flying. She had coaxed him into telling her how much he remembered of his childhood, before his parent's death.

And he had replied with a shrug, and the answer of, _'Well... I lived in a two-story __house;__ my best friend__s name__ was Gary Oak... And I lived with my parent__s in Pallet Town__.'_ He had stopped there, and she when had questioned him about anything else, or more so, lessons, education, manners, social norms.

His response was disheartening. He had learned basic reading, and the alphabet, but if she handed him a novel, which she had. His attempt had been nothing more than two or so corrects words, before prompting her to help him with the others.

When it came to manners, she realized he understood what was required of him. He knew of the use of addressing Giovanni as _Sir_ or _Boss_, strictly on the basis of him calling workers at the liquor stores _sir_ or_ ma'am_. He knew what table manners were; he had told her that he rarely used them unless he was in the presents of others. In which he usually wasn't. When he sneezed he did so into his arm, the same went with coughing. He picked up the habit when sneaking around area's patrolled by guards or security at night.

She would have to help him with being social, a skill of his he lacked severely. He wasn't one to add his two-cents into a conversation, as he had learned that by interrupting, you'd be given a swift back-hand across the cheek, or a fist delivered to the gut.

He liked asking questions though, and followed orders extremely well. If she told him to sit, he'd sit. If she asked him to follow her, he would so without question. It would make training all the easier. His questions so far revolved around Pokemon interestingly enough, and what she would be teaching him.

She answered without a problem, but had pressed him about his odd infatuation about Pokemon.

Apparently, according to what he remembered, had his parents never died, he would have gone on one of those Pokemon Journeys. To be the best, catch, train Pokemon, and all of that none sense. What surprised her the most though, was that he had yet to ever be in a close proximity with one.

He kept away from forest's and mountains, mostly sticking within city limits so he wouldn't get mauled by a wild Pokemon. Yes he had seen them, Pidgeys flying in the sky, Zubat's and Ratata's in the sewers.

But he had yet to actually touch, or speak to one.

This worried her.

It wasn't required to have a Pokemon for the training he'd be undergoing, but at times it would help. For sending messages, company, reconnaissance. So what worried her, was the fact that she wasn't sure that he would be able to handle it.

Her pen tapped the clipboard lightly, violet eyes watching as Ash scratched his left forearm. Something he had been doing a lot since that morning. At first she had thought it was just a nervous tick, but then when had she asked him about it, he had simply told her he was fine, but a bit anxious.

That's when she knew that he hadn't had a _fix_ in a while.

And that brought her back to why she worried about him. At her request, he had told her about how much he usually spent on drugs and alcohol. She had not liked his answer, he usually saved enough money per-sell for a dollar menu item at a fast-food restaurant, and then gone and spent the rest on booze and drugs. Booze more than drugs luckily.

She wasn't much of a fan of Pokemon herself, although cute one's did tend to tickle her fancy, but even she wouldn't allow someone such as Ash to _raise_ one. For the fact that he could barely take care of himself, and on the off chance that he... Went off the wall for not getting a fix, _she would make da__mn sure that he kept away from the few __Grunts__ who managed to get a hold of things such as coke or LSD_, he could seriously injure a Pokemon.

But then a small fraction of herself told her that it would be a _good_ thing for him to have his own. It would force him to take care of himself so that he could take care of it. It would be his friend, something he certainly wasn't going to be getting many of while training.

It would replace _her_ as the one he told his problems too. Something she would be more than glad to be gone of should the occasion arise.

"Domino?"

She blinked her thoughts away and scribbled down a note before looking up to answer, "Yes?"

Her eyebrows furrowed as she saw him to that odd smile grimace he did so often, "Why did you join Team Rocket?"

She heard the words, but did not seem to register them, "Excuse me?"

He was still looking out of the window, hand scratching his arm once again. "Well umm," He cleared his throat, "we'll why aren't you a Pokemon Trainer, or a... A model or something?"

She arched an eyebrow, and took his words as a compliment. "It's nothing you need to know about," She told him simply before jotting down another note.

He nodded to himself, still not looking away from the view, "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."

He certainly was an odd one; he hadn't pried in the slightest, but apologized none the less. She rested her arm on the arm rest of the seat, and crossed one leg over the other, resting her chin on the flat of her hand.

Now he glanced away from the window she noticed, he didn't turn his head to look, just his eyes skimming over to her and then back out the window. But once again he made no means as to ask her about why she was looking at him like that.

With the hand holding the pen, she jotted that observation down, and placed the clipboard beside her. There was still another two or so hours until they landed in Viridian, and since she had been up late the past two or three days, she was going to catch up on some missed sleep.

God knows she'd be needing it with the days to come.

* * *

**Thanks everyone for reading, and please feel free to drop in a review! I love the feed back!**


	6. A Tour

**Chapter Six **

A Tour

* * *

He felt so… Out of place.

Everyone he passed, older, younger it didn't matter. They all looked at him as if he was trash, chilling glares, snickers; a few went as far as to bump his shoulder as he passed. None of the members of Team Rocket in the long hallways were alone, most walked in pairs, or groups of three or fours. All whispering as he trailed behind Domino, the blond walking a pace ahead of him to his right.

He was sorely tempted to ask her about this, ask her why it looked like they all wanted him dead. Or at least severely hurt.

He wasn't scared; no he was far from scared. Put off would have been a better saying. Put off as to why Giovanni would want him trained in a place where he looked like a guppy in a shark tank.

The pair went up a flight of stairs, and down a corridor, before arriving at a single door. "This is the male dormitories," Domino began explaining as they went through the door. "We don't have curfews here, but there _are_ a few rules." He kept silent so she could continue, "Pardon my language, but if your being loud past say ten at night, your ass is going to be beat by everyone in this dorm. Even if none of them heard you, they won't take shit, and seeing as how you are new. They'll take any chance to kick your ass. So keep your door locked whenever you're in here."

"Why would they…"

Domino gave him a once over as they started up another flight of stairs, "You're new, you are older than most recruits. Most are recruited early on in their teens. You're a young man, eighteen yes?" She knew he was, but felt the need to ask him anyways.

"Yes… Anything else?" He asked.

"No girls," He was pleasantly surprised at the force in which she said that, "At any time, we don't need you knocking some girl up, and this also leads to the first rule. You understand why?"

After a few seconds she stifled a snort as red painted itself across his cheeks, and a swift nod of his head. "Good. Now these two rules are strictly for you okay?" He nodded, "You go to bed at ten, if you're not asleep by midnight, you will go down stairs get some sleeping pills and then go back to bed yes?" Another nod, "You will wake up at five every morning, it'll be hard at first. But your schedule is wake up, shower, eat, and then training for a solid few hours, supper, another few hours of training and then bed. Understand?"

"Yes,"

"Excellent," She stopped outside of a door, fished a key out of her top and stuck it into the brass knob. Swinging the door open she said, "This is your room,"

A bed, alarm clock, dresser, and a desk with an oak back chair. Sleep, wake-up, get ready, and work, he noted. The essentials of accomplishing those were all here. Almost hesitantly he stepped into the clean room and pulled open one of the drawers.

Inside were bottles. Shampoo, body washes, aftershaves… he moved the bottles around and found a tooth brush and tooth paste. Closing the drawer he pulled open another, sweatshirts and sweat pants like the ones he currently wore.

"Where do I…" His eyebrows furrowed momentarily, "I need to learn to… Wash clothing," His head turned slightly to look at Domino who was leaning against the door frame, clip board tucked under her arm.

She looked him up and down before saying, "We've got people who do the laundry, but… I think I'll have them teach you how to do your own should the occasion arise." She jotted something down on the clipboard.

Sliding the drawer shut, he took one last glance around the room. He could have said that it wasn't much, but it was more than he'd ever had before. To say otherwise, would be a lie. Yes in his childhood, as much as he could remember anyways. He had had a bed, toys, drawers filled with clothing…

But those memories were blurry; he couldn't even remember if any of what had happened happened. Here he had someplace to call his own, his own bed, his own clothing.

He turned to the door and Domino held out the key for him, "I've got your spare encase you lose or misplace yours. Now come on, you need to see where you're being taught."

So a few hours went by, he was shown where he'd be showering in the morning and after training sessions. Where the cafeteria was, classrooms, the gym, pool, infirmary, shooting range…

Domino looked down at her clipboard, _Girls dorm… Lounge… Simulator... That's next, the Simulator!_ She scratched a line through the print and glanced over her shoulder, "We'll be going to the- Ash?" He was gone. The hallway behind her was filled with Grunts, tall, short, blond, brunette… But no junkie… "Dammit,"

She started back tracking, this was the first time he had wandered off since they'd gotten here. Or since she'd known him. It must have been something important for him to do that.

After a few lefts and rights, she found him standing alone looking through a window, "Is there a reason you wandered off?" She asked slightly annoyed, there was still a lot to cover, and both of them had yet to eat since that morning.

He didn't acknowledge her, coming up beside him, she looked through the window and her eyebrow arched.

A Golem and Scizor were squaring off below.

Instead of watching the battle she turned her attention to her recruit. She could literally _see_ the gears spinning is his head as he watched the battle. His lips moving slightly as if he were ordering the Pokemon below, his eyes darted between the two as they countered each other before putting one another on offensive and defensive. With each attack delivered every clash between the two, his head shook or nodded slightly. But she saw something that threw her off completely. His lips were forming half smiles, not those grimaces. But an actual smile and it fit him quite nicely.

At that moment, she was more interested in him than the battle. His eyes were burning, screaming to go down there and take control of the Golem himself. She knew he had his hopes on the Golem, because when the Scizor landed a swift Metal Claw, he winced at the blow.

Her eyes drifted to his arm as he scratched at it, not from needing a fix though she figured. Anxiousness for the outcome of the battle, he was truly excited. She wouldn't be surprised if he had yet to acknowledge her presence yet.

Her eyes drifted away from him and to the battle below.

The Grunt controlling the Golem ordered a Stone Edge. Stomping at the ground, jagged rocks shot up from the ground encircling the Bolder Pokemon. Before it roared and the rocks shot forward like missiles towards the Steel Type.

Scizor danced around the first few projectiles, ducking, bending, twisting it's thin body around the stones. But then one struck its shoulder, than another into its chest, before half the volley impaled it.

Domino briefly heard the cry of pain from the mixed Type Pokemon as it was thrown into the wall behind it's trainer. It landed with a crack, and then a thud as it hit the ground in a pile of rubble.

Turning her gaze away from the battle and to Ash, she blinked as she saw his grin. The grin that all to clear said_ I called it, saw it from the very beginning! How anybody would think otherwise is beyond me! _She saw the out take of breath, and the slight mouthing of _Called it_ before he shook his head and almost reluctantly turned his gaze away from the window.

He jumped at her sudden presence, obviously he hadn't noticed her. His eyes darted around frantically, "S-Sorry, Domino. I-I saw the battle and umm… I kind of got distracted, I didn't mean to fall behind, I swear!"

Her eyebrow arched, but she said nothing.

Instead she turned on her heel saying, "Come on, we're going to the simulator next. Try not to fall behind," And instantly he was beside her, matching her foot for foot.

He felt guilty about trailing off, it was clear as day. But she could see he was still replaying the battle over in his mind. He'd be focusing on that for the rest of the tour she realized, so she'd keep everything brief for him.

But now she knew that she had something to… _Reward_ him with for if he did well in his training, or his schooling.

It may even be worth setting him up for a practice battle for him, god knows they had enough battling Tournaments between the Elites, and those few Grunts who could do more than order a Tackle, and yell _Go get em' Raty-cape, use your Bitey Attack and win dis ting!_

How those Grunts survived in the field was beyond her.

Hopefully Ash would succeed in battling, just as how she believed he would succeed in thievery.

Mediocre at best.

* * *

**Thanks for reading everyone, and please feel free to drop in a review, I love the feedback!**


	7. Choices

**Chapter Seven  
**

Choices

* * *

A week in, and she couldn't have been happier with his progress.

Of course she never let it show.

But Ash was doing splendidly, he had but on a good forty pounds, making him 165lb. She kept him exercising, running, jogging, weights, sit-ups, push-ups. He was far stronger than he had been one week ago; it amazed her at how much effort he was putting into this.

And it was very rare for something to amaze her.

But he was doing it.

She was tempted; she truly was to go ahead with her plan of rewarding him for doing well. By bringing him to watch a battle or two, it was his favorite pastime there. Whenever she went to look for him she always started at the training fields, either he'd be sitting on the stands, or up at the window overlooking the field.

But she had to hold back, for now at least until she had him loot something. If he could do that first go, than she'd bring him down to the fields and let him watch an hour's worth of battles for a break. But that was the thing; she was still trying to come up with a way for him to steal something.

Yes there was the classic, attach a bell to a jacket and have him try and snatch a wallet out from it without setting the bell off. But she figured he'd be able to do that without a hitch. That was child's play.

In her spare time, she was laying out blue prints for mock buildings in the simulators that would be constructed for his attempts at gaining access. But that was a long ways away. So she needed something for him to start off with in the meantime…

She watched him from her seat on a bench in the weight room, her right leg hooked over her left. His shirt was drenched with sweat, hair swishing forward and then falling back as he did rapid sit-ups. He had gone from seven, to ninety seven once he had started eating properly. For push-ups, five soared up to seventy three. Pull ups? One went up to twenty.

He was doing absolutely extraordinary.

And it honestly baffled her. How was he going from a junkie into an Olympian in less than a week? Hell she wanted to skip two weeks and see what he was like then. Giovanni must have some… Knack for recruiting talented people. The Elites of Team Rocket were truly the best of the best, and Ash. Even though he had only been working out since he had been brought in, would be surpassing most of the current Elites in no time.

His drive to push himself past the limit was absolutely remarkable.

"That's enough," She called from the bench, "Take a breather, and clean up,"

He collapsed onto his back, knees still bent and let out a grateful sigh, "You're doing well," She forced herself to admit, but he remained silent, "But at the moment, we have a problem,"

His eyebrows furrowed, and he drew an intake of breath, "You're progressing far faster than my ability to get a proper routine sorted out for you. So…" She chewed on her bottom lip, keeping her eyes fastened on her unmoving trainee, "I want you to take tomorrow off, but I want you to eat properly, wake up same time, and go to sleep same time okay?"

After a moment of silence, "Okay, are you sure? I could still workout. I mean we've only been going at this for a week,"

She stood up and tossed him a towel, which landed on his stomach, "No exercise, if you want to, feel free to run _after_ you eat. But that's it, nothing else. Now I'll leave you to clean yourself up,"

His head lolled to the side as she started for the door, brown eyes watching her slim figure pass through the door and around a corner.

At least he wasn't in trouble, in fact. She may have seemed a little pleased, and that was far more than he could have asked for.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Following a morning run, he had showered, and then had gone straight for the training fields. There were four scheduled battles for that day, and he was excited for every single one of them.

He learned from Domino, that he was a _Grunt,_ a lower ranking member of Team Rocket. He found the term odd, but accepted it without question. There were currently two Grunts' on the field, one using a Zubat, the other a Rattata.

The battle was… Defiantly sub-par to those he had witnessed earlier in the day. Such as a battle between a Mightyana and Wartortle, or Raichu and Charmeleon… He really wanted to battle, he really did.

But he knew that that would not be happening until he and Domino got well into his studies of Thievery. That's why he was here, not to battle. He was to go and free Pokemon from abusive Trainers, and he'd damn well do that.

But as she had said yesterday, that she had yet to set up a proper routine for him was a little surprising. From the get go, she seemed on top, and six steps ahead of everything. With that clipboard of hers housing notes of… God knows what, but probably a bunch of things…

He shook his head, if he even went to sneak a _glance_ at the clip board, he'd be packing his metaphorical bags out of Team Rocket in seconds.

He scratched his arm, behind the black cloth of his sweatshirt; he knew there was a large red splotch. He was going cold turkey… And it was absolutely killing him.

Screw the cocaine, or heroine. Just give him a joint and he'd be fine. It was nearing two… Yes two weeks without some sort of high, and with all of the exercise he had been doing, he could go for a proper break.

But as far as he knew, there wasn't anything he could use in the entire damn building.

So he was screwed.

His eyes drifted away from the battle and to the door as Domino entered the Training fields. Had she come up with something for him? She only came down here when- No, she stopped at a door…

His head cocked to the side as she swiped a key card into a lock and passed through the door, what was in the room that she could possibly be looking for? Was it an office? Storage? Janitors closet? Center for Pokemon?

In reality, it had been none of those things.

Domino glanced down to her clipboard before looking up to the aisles of Pokeballs. The sides were labeled from left to right:

**A-B C-D E-F G-H I-J K-L M-N O-P Q-R S-T U-V W-X Y-Z**

The facility currently held 367 unique Pokemon species, and after doing some research on the types, uses, purposes, and a bunch of other tasks.

She had decided to see if any of them would be good for Ash.

She had contacted Giovanni for Ashs weekly progress report, and during their conversation she had asked whether it would be alright to see if he had any possible instinct when it came to battling.

Which she believed he did.

Hesitant at first, Giovanni had agreed after some bargaining that if Ash showed any promise at all when battling that he be contacted immediately. Seeing as how she could battle her way out of a scrum if she needed to, but she was no Trainer. And if Ash could become an expert battler, as well as thief? Well that would just be excellent!

She didn't have the creative edge, or the cunning to undermine an opponent. So Giovanni wanted to bring in one of their specialists to train Ash in that area.

But he had charged _her_ with finding him a suitable Pokemon and seeing if he had any skill what so ever in battling.

She had narrowed her results of suitable Pokemon under strict categories. They need to be young, untrained, be able to contribute to any mission he was assigned to, and not be the size of an Onix. It would have to be able to follow him into buildings, and air vents, or any other possible indoor situations that may arrive.

There were quite a few selections that she would have trouble deciding between.

A Meowth like the Boss had, an Eevee so it could evolve into his preference of type, a Pikachu who was small and had the ability to stun…

She walked slowly down the aisles, index finger trailing down the list of names until it came to a halt beneath a black Pokeball. The Rocket logo had yet to painted onto the front meaning that this one was still a fairly recent capture- She looked to her clipboard and hunted down its name. A month old, it was bred, not captured… Had yet to partake in any training…

She bit her lip; it was one of her favorite choices from those she had narrowed down. It would suit him well, nice arrange of attacks, it was small, it should be friendly, and in her opinion _very cute!_

She reached up onto the shelf, removed the lone sphere, and started for the door.

If she couldn't think of a way to start his thieving skills within the next few days, she start him on Pokemon battling. Or attempt to anyways.

As she left room, she held back a jump as a Rattata was thrown into the wall next to her, before it hit the ground knocked out in a pile of dust.

"Get up Rat!" Its trainer called out, "This battle ain't over yet!"

Domino's eyebrow arched. The battle was very much over judging by the swirls in the little rats eyes. Walking away from the Pokemon and to the door, her eyes drifted over to Ash. Who had no doubt watched her enter the keep half an hour ago.

His eyes followed her out of the room, but he made no attempt to stand up and follow her.

She really need to have a chat about that with him.

Not yet though, she had to work on his schedule.

And now include battling into that already extensive list of tasks.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**For those of you who have read the one-shot of mine entitled **_**The Pits. **_**I got bored and wrote a sequel to it. **

**I don't know if I want to publish it. If you've read it, and find that you'd like a second act to the story, let me know.**

**AGP's next chapter is almost completed, just running through looking for errors, grammar, and regular mistakes. So that may be up within the week.**

**Other than that, thanks everyone for reading, and please feel free to drop in a review. I love the feedback, and thanks for reading!**


	8. Strike

**Chapter Eight****  
**

Strike

* * *

Where did he go?

_Where the hell_, did he go!

He was late for his workout, she hadn't seen him for lunch, and nobody had seen him for the past three hours!

Rounding a corner, Domino sighed irritably as she examined her clipboard. She had his first few lessons planned out, lock picking and disabling alarms, and wanted to get it started that day. Hell she had told him that morning that they would be starting his real training later on in the day.

But he was a no show!

Whatever reason he had for not showing up better damn well-

"You lying piece of shit!"

Her eyebrows drew together.

"I-I didn't take anything!" What… What the hell did he do?

Turning a corner, an eyebrow arched as she saw her trainee cornered by two higher up Grunts, "Don't give us that! You god damn followed us and stole our-"

"Search me!" Ash exclaimed pulling his pockets out, "I'll drop my pants if you want," Domino blinked, "But I _swear_ to you I didn't take anything from you guys!"

One of the grunts grabbed him by the collar and drew back a fist, "Tell us where it-"

"Might I ask why you have your hands on my recruit?" She asked stepping in before Ash was injured.

The blond and brunette glanced away from Ash and to her, "This punk stole our- uh," The blond paused and glanced at the brunette who still had his fist cocked backwards.

"Our lunch bag!" The brunette finished with a shrug.

"I didn't take anything Dom I swear!" Ash exclaimed desperately, "I swear I didn-"

"Ash, stop," She said it quietly, but her tone told him not to make a sound, "You two are going to injure my recruit over a _miss placed_ lunch?"

Both grunts had blood rush to their cheeks and glanced to Ash, "I-It was expensive!" The blond muttered.

"From outside of the building,"

She shook her head slightly, "Let him go, and get out of my sight."

They stared at her with frustration, before the gaze shifted back to Ash with anger, "_Now_," The brunette released Ashs collar as if he had been scald at the underlining of ice in her voice.

"This ain't over between us," The blond growled at him before stalking away with the brunette right beside him.

Ash let out a grateful sigh and slumped down against the wall, "So how did you get involved with that may I ask?" She asked tapping her clipboard with her index finger.

As he stood himself up, he shrugged awkwardly, "They uh… Thought I stole something of theirs, they came after me…"

She stared hard at him, "What _did_ you steal?"

For a moment, she actually thought he was going to lie to her, tell her he stole _nothing,_ but then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver wristwatch.

Her eyebrow raised, "A watch?" He nodded not meeting her gaze, "How?"

His eyebrows drew together, and he pulled out a box of cards from his other pocket, "It's a card trick, I picked it up some time ago… Asked if they wanted to see one, and… Well…"

Her head nodded slightly, she wasn't angry. No, she was far from it… In fact, she would say that she was happy. But her unsmiling face showed none of that.

So he _could_ steal she realized, "Was he wearing the watch?" He nodded, "So you took it off of him when-" She stopped as he nodded a second time.

So he could do distractions fairly well then, "But what about the lunch," She asked slowly, "Surely that was an overreaction, they wouldn't have come down on you if it wasn't something else,"

Silence and zero movement greeted her, after a few seconds, "It _was_ something else wasn't it?"

What the hell had he stolen?

"Ash?" She used a parental voice, one a mother might use on her child if they were hiding something from her.

His hand went to his forearm and he scratched at the same spot on his arm, and her eyes narrowed dangerously, and her previous happiness had been replaced with a twinge of anger, "Ash… _What did you _steal?"

Without meeting her gaze, Ash went over to a trash can and removed the lid. Peeling back the garbage bag, he reached beneath it and pulled out a rolled up paper bag before holding it out towards her.

She stared at it, before looking to him.

He was scared; she could see it without seeing his eyes. His bangs were in front of his face which was staring intently at his shoes, while the one hand held out the bag.

She took the bag, and unrolled the top.

She knew what she was going to come across, she didn't want to know.

But she did.

Opening the top, she bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at him.

Pot.

He had skipped eating and working out.

For pot.

_God-Dammit!_ She thought tearing her eye away from the dried green plant and to him, what would she say? She _couldn't_ yell at him, well she could. She _really_ wanted to, but it would do nothing but scare him and revert him back into a shell.

Dropping the bag on the ground, she reached forward and grabbed his wrist. With his palm facing upward, she yanked back his sleeve and cursed.

"Come with me," She growled pulling him towards the infirmary.

His arm was scabbed, cut, and terribly rashed.

He should have told her.

He should have _fucking _told her.

Dragging him through the doorway to the infirmary, she shoved him down onto a chair and went over to a nurse, "I need you to take a look at his-" She pointed directly at Ash, "arm,"

The nurse went over to Ash immediately and looked at his arm, "This irritates you doesn't it?" She asked softly, "Itches, burns?"

He didn't answer.

"Ash," Domino said lowly.

"Yes…"

The nurse nodded and went over to a cabinet, "I'll put some ointment on for the rash, then wrap your arm to prevent you from getting at it," He nodded wordlessly as she applied a white cream to his arm and then the bandages over top.

When she was done, she went over to her desk and pulled open a drawer. Taking out a packet, she handed it to him, "Whenever you feel… Ya know," She said knowingly, and Ash merely nodded, "Have a piece of gum, I take it you haven't had a, umm, _high_ in some time?"

"Yeah,"

"Well the gum will help, but if you feel sick come here immediately alright?"

He nodded, "Thank you," Domino said quietly keeping her eyes fastened on Ash, "Come on, you've still got work to do today,"

On her way out, she grabbed his elbow and yanked him out of the room.

Once they were in the hall, she gripped his collar and shoved him hard against the wall, "If you _ever_ miss practice for something…" She huffed out a breath, "For something as stupid as this again, I swear I'll be done with you!"

He had gone pale, and his eyes wide with fright, "I don't care if it's the middle of the night, or first thing in the morning. If you _ever_ feel like you need a fix desperately, I want you to find me. Do you understand me?"

He nodded, and she gave his collar a tug, "I want you to say it!"

"I-I understand… Domino, I-I understand I'm sorr-"

"Don't, apologize," She whispered seriously. She released her grip on his collar and spun on her heel, clutching the clip board in a vice grip, "And don't call me _Dom_ ever again,"

Ash let out a shaky breath, he'd done it. He had royally fucked up this time.

His second chance had been given a strike.

And he wasn't sure how many were left till he was out.

* * *

**AGP's next chapter is complete, I'm just getting a little ahead in writing to make sure that it moves smoothly along with the rest of the story.**

**I've started on _another_ story, but I doubt that will be out for the longest time. That is if I go ahead and finish it.  
**

**Second semester start's tomorrow, and I'll have far less time to write because of it. I'll have homework from each class if I'm correct every night.  
**

**So updates will be slowed most likely.  
**

**Any thank you all for reading, and thank you all for your feedback. It's great, and if you wouldn't mind please drop in a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter!  
**

**Thanks again!  
**


	9. Da-Da-Dat

**Chapter Nine**

Da-Da-Dat

* * *

Ash flexed his knuckles, carefully holding a pair of pliers in one hand, and a pair of tweezers in the other. He licked his once again dry lips, and swiped the back of his hand across his sweaty brow.

Using the tweezers he picked out the green wire from the tangle in the box and maneuvered it between them. Clamping down, he pulled it into clear view, and snapped his gaze right. _15 seconds_ the timer read, and dropping quickly.

With a steady hand, he took the green wire and snipped it.

He glanced at the timer- it was still dropping- _10 9 8_

He licked his lips anxiously; it _had _to have been the green wire! _Had to!_

Red, yellow, and blue remained. Blue was auto trigger- if he snapped that he'd be blown straight to hell. Yellow was for the timer. So that left the red.

Without hesitation, he slid the pliers through the tangle of wires and severed the red.

The timer stopped.

"Oh thank god," He murmured letting out a breath.

Domino came into view upside down; she was jotting another note down on her clipboard shaking her head slightly.

"You should have known that there was a false wire Ash," She scolded lightly, not glancing at the boy who hung by his feet from the ceiling like a bat. She had put him in an awkward scenario that would test how he would do under a time constraint and odd positioning.

He did fairly well, a tad slower then she would have hoped and the faulty wiring should have been noticed. But fairly well none the less.

"I forgot," He mumbled with his eyes closed.

This time she did look up, eyes focused squarely on him, "The next time you forget," She said, "Could very well be your last. At times wires like those are rigged to trigger concealed alarms or traps, something that could very well endanger you and your mission,"

He simply nodded, and she bit back a sigh.

His retorts and responses had toned down in the past week or so since their little confrontation. He'd been chewing numerous pieces of gum, and she had kept a keen eye on his behavior.

He was still quiet, but far more predictable now. He seemed to stick to a schedule of his own; breakfast, training, lunch, training, a break- Watching battles and chewing gum, training and then finally sleep.

He was scared to go off do and do anything else, he socialized with no one, and for that she was glad. There were numerous Grunts around the training facility who would take quite the joy in messing with Ashs habits, and if they got word of his… Previous addiction, they would no doubt take advantage of the situation.

"Get yourself down," She muttered waving her hand at him absently.

Ash curled himself upwards towards his feet. A hand grip was attached next to the boot, and with one hand he grabbed it, and the other started unbuckling the boots.

He slid one foot out, and undid the second buckle. Holding onto the bar with both hands he pulled his foot free and swung down like a whip. Startled by the speed in which he unfurled, he landed both feet on the ground and bent backwards unsteadily.

Quickly Domino reached out and placed a hand on his back and another on his chest to steady him. She stared at her hands, the one placed on his chest feeling his rapid heartbeat beneath his shirt. She glanced away and brought her eyes to his, "You okay?"

Ash stared into her eyes and nodded. After a few brief seconds, he glanced down, and she followed his gaze.

She drew back her hands off of him as if they'd been burnt, and placed them clasped behind her back, "Right… Okay go clean up and meet me for dinner," She said regaining her composure.

"Alright," He turned and went towards the bathroom.

Once he went through the single door, she hesitated before turning and going for the exit.

Why… Why had she?

It was to balance him, stop him from falling and twisting something.

Then why did she find herself focused on his heartbeat.

She shook her head and passed through the door.

Cold… She was probably coming down with a cold or something.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She ate her salad slowly, trying desperately to keep the agitation off her face. His fingers drummed over and over again on the table, three times a pause and then again.

He ate his sandwich quietly, staring off around the pretty empty cafeteria.

_Da-da-dat_

He wasn't scratching at his arm, not looking anxious or desperate.

So what was it?

_Da-da-dat_

"What's the matter?" She asked finally.

_Da-da-dat_

His eyebrow rose, and he swallowed, "Nothing why?"

_Da-da-dat_

She sighed, "Ash," She said sternly, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," His eyes drifted down to the table away from her gaze and to his tray.

_Da-da-dat_

"Ash," His eyes went straight back to hers startled by the softness in her tone, "Tell me what's wrong, are you… Ya know feeling-"

He shook his head, "Then what?"

He remained silent and took a small bite of his sandwich, once he swallowed, "It doesn't concern me,"

_Da-da-dat_

She set down her fork and placed her hands down flat on the table, "Tell me," she held her tongue before adding on, "Please,"

That seemed to do it as he sighed and set down his sandwich.

Then for first time since they'd been together, she saw a glimmer of suspicion.

"Its…" He paused, before drawing out, "It's really none of my, er, business… I was kind of wondering why… Why you uh reacted the way you did,"

Now her eyebrows drew together in confusion, "What do you mean?"

He bit his lip, "Well… I-I understand that well, I shouldn't have gone looking for drugs… But wasn't that something I dunno, you figured I might have done long ago?"

She nodded, "I had a feeling… Go on,"

He seemed to be getting more comfortable and shifted in his seat, "Then why did, why did you grab me? I mean, I knew what I did was wrong. And well, I… I think there was a bit of an overreaction if you knew I was going to try something like that,"

Her eyebrow rose in surprise, "I overreacted?"

He nodded carefully, "It's…" He stopped fully choosing his words carefully, "You know what… What I've _done_ right? Where I've been?"

She nodded.

He took the plunge, "Well, you said you'd be done with me if I tried that again. The drugs… But that, your reaction umm stuck with me,"

"Stuck with you?" Now she was growing curious, this was currently her first _real_ back and forth conversation with Ash. Not related with training in anyway.

"I slept on it the last few nights and well… I- You've been in a similar situation, haven't you?"

And now she realized where he was going. Taking a deep breath, she said very clearly, "Take the thoughts out of your mind Ash," She saw the flash of knowing cross his eyes, "and _don't_ ask."

She watched him steadily; she could see he was _burning_ with questions. He wanted to ask her, ask her why she disliked drugs, why she took him on if _he_ had been a junkie.

Oh god he wanted to know.

He opened his mouth, and she was about to tell him to drop it or else, but once again he surprised her, "I'm sorry Domino. I didn`t mean to pry,"

With that he took his tray, stood up and went over to the trash bin. Clearing the contents of the tray, he placed it on the rack above and left the cafeteria.

Leaving Domino staring after him once again in disbelief.

* * *

**The plot very slightly thickens, just a** _smidge._** But thickens none the less.**

**It's a long weekend, and I managed to finish all of my homework. **

**So I whipped this up.**

**I wanna thank you all for reading, and would love it if you would feel like dropping in a review. Th more feedback the better.**

**Next update may be soon, the next chapter is half finished at the moment.**

**Until then, thanks again; and I'll see you all next time!**


	10. Wow Me

**Chapter Ten**

Wow Me

* * *

The question ate at him for the coming days, but not once did he re-ask, or pry into Domino's past. He honestly like the blond with pretty violet eyes, and he was not about to make her think less of him.

But he knew that at one point in time, she had either been influenced by drugs in alcohol, or had at least had a traumatizing event with them.

And he knew,_ knew_ with every fiber of his being, that whatever that reason was.

Was why she was with Team Rocket.

But he dared not ask again. If on the chance that she come to trust him, or feel like sharing. He'd listen, and would not interrupt her story unless she prompted.

But God he wanted to know…

But that was the least of his worries that day.

It had now been one month and three days since he joined Team Rocket, and today Domino had told him to relax for the day as his regular training had been canceled. Domino had told him that she was due to have a meeting with Giovanni that day, she didn't say whether or not it was here at the training facility or elsewhere, she just told him to relax and do some reading later on.

He'd taken to his set schedule quite lovingly. Despite her orders, he had gone for a run and a short work out before cleaning up and heading down to the training fields to watch the battles scheduled for the day.

He'd been delighted to hear that there were to be eight or nine that day. There had been two already before an explosion left the field in need of repairs.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his pack of gum and stuck a piece in his mouth. He was still itching to get a fix, but the gum was helping.

Barely.

But helping none the less, it took his mind off of the drugs and let him chew his stress away.

But there was that little inkling in the back of his mind that told him he'd be at that point between druggie and getting clean rather soon.

That wall he would run into which would have him clawing his eyes out, crying, doing God knows what in an attempt to get something in him.

He'd seen it happen, those junkies who hadn't had a high in well over a month who would be willing to kill for a single puff or injection.

He wasn't looking forward to it.

But it was coming soon.

He felt sluggish and tired, the motivation he had had at the beginning of his recruitment was diminishing, and the thoughts of ditching were seeping into his consciousness.

But he wouldn't do that. Or at least, that's what he told himself anyways.

He took his eyes away from the field and to the door as Domino walked in, clipboard in hand, and another Rocket right behind her.

He frowned, as she and the Rocket went into the room in which she had gone in once before. She was supposed to be in a meeting? And who was that guy? He'd never seen him before, a trainer? Grunt? Teacher?

_Boyfriend!?_

For whatever reason the thought appalled him, Domino just didn't seem to be the kind of girl who did relationships.

Although she certainly was really nice… smart... and pretty...

He blinked realizing what he had just thought. What the hell was he thinking? Taking the thoughts out of his mind, he watched as she came out of the room, Rocket behind her and surprisingly start his way.

His chewing slowed and Domino came to a stop in front of him, "Ready for your next lesson?"

"I thought you had to speak with Giovanni?"

"That's already been done," She said simply turning to look at the field, "Now Ash," His eyebrows furrowed in confusion, this wasn't how she usually began when she was going to teach him something new, "You've been doing well with what you've been assigned, your skills are improving, and your schooling is helping you, yes?"

He nodded carefully, "Well, now I'm not going to be teaching you how to do this. I can battle yes, but I'm not great. That's what Archer is here for, questions?"

He was blinking rapidly and Domino's eyebrow rose questioningly. "Ash?"

"Huh!?" He asked startled looking into her eyes.

"Questions?"

He opened his mouth, and then closed it swiftly before asking, "I… I-I get to battle?" It was a little more than a whisper, but she heard it clearly.

She removed the hand from behind her back and showed him the black and white orb, "Wow me," She challenged easily.

His eyes widened when he saw the Pokeball.

He stared for a solid fifteen seconds until he reached out and removed it from her palm, rolling the minimized ball between his fingers.

"W-What is it?" He asked quietly, his index pressing the button on the front, the ball expanded in his hand and he eyed it with growing excitement.

Domino flourished her arm out to the battlefield, "See for yourself,"

She was startled by the immense grin he shot at her, before he leapt over the railing and sprinted over to the Trainer's box, Pokeball held at the ready.

"Come on Archer!" Ash exclaimed enthusiastically, "We're wasting daylight!"

A small laugh escaped her mouth as Ash waved impatiently at the other end of the field, "Better do as he says," She muttered to the taller man beside her.

"Kids going to get wrecked," He muttered going over to the other end.

Domino clicked her pen and started jotting down a few notes onto her clip board before the battle begun. Had she expected that sort of reaction out of him? No, no she really hadn't.

It was far better than she could have hoped for honestly; this was a side of him she had yet to see. The childish, carefree side of Ash Ketchum.

Did she think he could win the battle? No, no she didn't. Did she care one way or the other? No, all she wanted was to see how he reacted to the situation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The smooth metal of the pokeball was surprisingly comforting in his hand, he watched Archer with a grin as he stepped into his Trainer box.

"_Wow me,"_ Archer mocked casting a glance at Domino when she scowled at him.

He couldn't help it, "Same goes for you big boy, don't get cocky cause the battle hasn't even begun!"

From the corner of his eye he saw Domino give him an approving look, "Shut your trap Rat! Go Golem!" The Pokeball spun out from Archers grasp as he side armed it out across the field.

Ash watched with growing exhilaration as the large Bolder Pokemon beat it's rocky hide with its stubby arms and bellow out at him.

The grin wouldn't leave his face, bringing his eyes down to the Pokeball; he looked out to the field and threw it towards the center, "Go Pokeball!" He cried excitedly. It was something he had seen numerous Trainers do on television when they called out their Pokemon.

The Pokeball burst open and in a flash of intense white light, a small slate-grey colored fox with red accents on its head appeared on the field. The small fox yawned and shook itself out, before glancing over its shoulder and staring at Ash.

"What is it Domino? What are its moves!?"

"It's a Zorua," She replied, "Figure out its moves for yourself,"

He looked at the little fox and gave an encouraging nod, his grin widened as Zorua gave him one back before looking at the towering rock type.

"Let's see what you and that rat can do, Golem Rollout!"

"Dodge it!"

Golem flipped in the air, arms and legs tucked in as it sped down the field in a roll for Zorua, rocks churning up in its wake. The little fox bent its legs, and when Golem was about to collided, it leapt into the air, up and over landing squarely back on the ground.

"Great job Zorua!" Ash cheered, "Give it a-a- Dark Ball!" Zorua looked at him with a confused tilt of the head, "No?" he asked himself, "U-Uh Ta-Dodge it!"

Golem had U-turned directly back for it, Zorua leapt to the left, but was clipped as it rolled past.

Ash winced, "Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, there was a growl in response as Zorua shook out its fur and ready itself once again.

"Golem Earthquake!"

Ashs eyes grew wide as he heard the attack, "Jump!" He cried out desperately.

Golem unfurled from the rollout and leapt into the air, the Bolder Pokemon hit the ground which released a bone rattling tremor across the field, making Ash lose his balance as Zorua leapt high in the air, "Tackle!"

Zorua landed back on all fours and sprinted down the field in a blur. Leaping off the ground, it dove head first into the rocky build of Golem.

Ash watched in horror as Golem scratched at where Zorua had hit unaffected, while Zorua stumbled about shaking its head. That was no good, "Golem!" Archer called out, "Stone edge!"

"Kick sand at it quick!" Zorua still a little dazed from its attempted attack, buried it's two back feet into the ground and kicked dust rapidly into Golem's eyes.

The Boulder Pokemon bellowed in frustration before stomping on the ground, jagged rocks shot up from the field encircling the blinded Pokemon.

"Zorua get out of-" Ash cut himself off and sprinted sprinted out of his Trainers box towards Domino, right as Stone Edge shot outwards.

Golem blinded by the sand attack, shot the rocks in the direction where Zorua had been, which had coincidentally also been in the direction Domino had been standing.

Ash tackled her to the ground right as the rocks rocked over top of them and into the wall, shattering into dust and fragments, "Zorua Punch it!"

He was surprised when Zorua's front paw was enveloped in a dark purple mist, the little fox dove at Golem and swung an uppercut right beneath where Golem's jaw protruded out from its rock shell.

Golem stumbled backwards, doing two back somersaults before righting itself dazed. "Golem!" Archer barked angrily, "Steamroll that rat with Rollout!"

Doing much like it did before, Golem leapt into a somersault down the field as Zorua sprinted away.

Ash thought quickly, "Zorua run over to Archer!" Zorua halted, and jumped high into the air above Golem; it landed back down and ran towards their opponents Trainer.

"Kill it Golem!"

Golem turned and headed straight back down the field, rocks tearing up from the ground as it increased in speed. Zorua looked to its Trainer waiting for a command; it stood directly in front of Archer as Golem neared.

Ash waited till Golem was a meter away before yelling out "Jump!" at the top of his lungs.

Zorua leapt high above the ground right as Golem barreled passed beneath and into the horrified Archer who took the full force of the attack. Ash watched as Archer was sent sailing into the wall behind him, and Golem left reeling and confused as it waited for a command from its Trainer.

"Tackle!" Zorua flipped in the air and used the falling momentum to drive itself square into Golems back. The Rock Type, caught off guard, was thrown off of the field, and sent rolling into Archer.

Ash waited with wide eyes and an erratic heartbeat, for his opponents to move. After fifteen seconds passed he let his head fall to look at the ground in relief.

The grin that had been on his face the entire battle had been wiped off his face as he saw Domino staring at him with wide eyes, hair spread out messily on the ground and across her face. He cracked a nervous smile, "Heh… I-I won?" He said nervously.

It took a full minute for her to respond, "Yeah… Yeah ya did." She paused, "Now get off of me,"

He hurried to his feet, face heating up as he offered out his hand, "S-Sorry Domino, I… The attack went off and it went straight for you and you were looking at your clipboard-" He bent down and picked up the fallen item and pen handing them to her, "And you would have gotten hurt, and-"

She held up a hand and he silenced, "Don't apologize… But," She cleared her throat awkwardly, "Thank you though. For that…" She tilted her head at the field, "Aren't you going to check on your Pokemon?"

His previous embarrassment was wiped off his face as he turned to Zorua, the little fox watching him with interest, "You were _fantastic!"_ He exclaimed running over and scooping it up into his arms, "Unbelievable, the way you sucker punched him beneath the jaw, and you were _so speedy!"_

Zorua howled and nudged him with its nose, "When can we do this again Domino, can I use Zorua again?"

Domino finished dusting herself off, "Well I don't see why not, seeing as how you're her Trainer," She kept the smile off her face as his jaw dropped open, "You're not a member of Team Rocket without a Pokemon Ash, I'm not going to let you go out into the field on your own am I?" She reached out and stroked the little fox's head, Zorua leaning into her touch.

"Really? Zorua and I?"

Here she did give him a serious look, "There is one condition however," She said slowly, and she knew she had his rapt attention when he straightened himself out, "I expect you to take _extremely good_ care of her, and the only way that is going to happen is if you take care of yourself. Do you understand where I'm going with this?"

Of course he did, "I-I do… Thank you Domino, really."

She waved the thanks away and looked over to where Archer was attempting to stabilize himself, keeping one hand on the unconscious Golem to hold himself up, "You two go get lunch, I have a feeling I'm going to have to keep Archer from snapping your neck,"

Ash went wide-eyed and looked down to Zorua, "Hungry?" He asked quickly, a little howl in response, "Good enough for me; see ya later Domino!" With that he sprinted away from her, fox held cozily in his arms as he ran for the door.

A tiny smile did make it onto her lips now, and she shook her head in amusement. So he _could _battle in his own sort of way, and he needed to learn attack names. Maybe a Pokedex or something along that line would help him.

Unfortunately she had still been gawking at him when he ordered Zorua to run to Archer. She had seen from the corner of her eye, the Golem drilling Archer in the gut. And, was the attack a little unfair?

In her opinion no it wasn't, if you were going to be a member of Team Rocket, you _had_ to play dirty some times. And the cards had all been on Archers side at the beginning, Ash was using his Pokemon for the first time, didn't know any of its attacks, so he got creative.

And yes.

She was proud of him.

For winning the battle, and for keeping her from taking the Stone Edge. She had seen on many occasions where an attack went off target and ended up severely injuring a bystander. Attacks like Stone Edge were some of the worst though, with blunt, or sharp objects being impaled against a person could very well be lethal. So for all she knew, Ash had saved her life that day.

Maybe he wouldn't be… _That _bad of a partner.

Who knows.

* * *

**Zorua? When I saw that name come up in a review, it was the perfect choice honestly. I hadn't even come close to thinking of using that Pokemon, but I personally feel like there'd be no better choice.**

**So what do you think?**

**Please drop in a review, tell me what you like, didn't like, what you thought could have been improved on? Any thing!**

**Thanks again for reading, and I'll see you all next time!**


	11. Didn't Sign Up For This

**Chapter Eleven**

Didn't Sign Up For This

* * *

It was fucking happening…

He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms and then widened them in an attempt to shake off his sleepiness.

It didn't work.

Carrie was going on about… Going on about something related to spelling, but he really… _Really _didn't give a shit at that moment. He was to fucking tired.

His hand went to his forearm and scratched at the bandage that was wrapped tightly around it. God how long was this class? He'd been there for… What three hours? _Four!?_

He placed his palms to his temple and let out a long groan, "Am I boring you Ketchum?"

Ash didn't take notice of her, choosing instead to reach for his pocket where his packet of gum lay. When his hand slid in, he felt the thin cardboard of the box and pulled it out.

Flipping open the top, his head fell backwards and he let the box fall to the ground, "Fuck!" He muttered, it was empty.

"Problem?"

Yes. He was out of gum, "No… Yeah- Can we take a break Carrie? Please?"

The brunettes eyebrow rose and she regarded him carefully, "Are you… Are you feeling alright? Ya look all sweaty and pale,"

Was he sweating? He ran a hand across his forehead and wasn't in the least surprised to feel his hand run across a damp surface, "Yeah, I-I'm fine. Just need a walk or something. So can we?"

His English teacher stared at him for what seemed like hours until she gave a small nod of the head, "Do what you need, might want to go get yourself checked out while you're at it,"

He simply nodded and got up from his seat, "I'll be right back," He muttered going for the door.

Leaving the classroom, he slowly trudged his way down the hall, his eyes darting around at those he passed.

Were… Were they watching him? He passed two who were talking to each other; they were talking about him weren't they? He glanced over his shoulder quickly, neither of the two turned back to look at him, but they were still talking closely together.

He shook his head and rounded a corner, it was his imagination.

_Like hell it was._

He entered the infirmary and looked around the empty room, "Susan?" He called out curiously, "Susan you here?"

The nurse who treated his arm just under two weeks ago came out from an office to the side, "Hello Ash," She greeted warmly with a grin.

He liked Susan, she was a year or two older than him, and didn't seem to give a damn about his addiction.

He liked that.

"Hey, you uh… You got anymore gum?" He asked casually going over to her.

The blond's eyebrow rose in surprise, "You went through the last pack already?" She asked in disbelief, "I only gave you that one yesterday!"

He simply nodded, "Yeah… I know, but got anymore?"

She eyed him critically, "Where are you supposed to be right now?"

Where was he supposed to be-, "Oh… Uh," He shut his eyes and waved a hand as the answer sat on the tip of his tongue, "The uh, English, reading… You know like ABC?"

She nodded sympathetically and went over to her desk, "How are you feeling?" She asked pulling open a drawer.

Probably as good as he looked. He hadn't slept fitfully for two days, he was sore, fucking _tired_! "Ya know, the usual,"

Susan placed her hands on her hips, a packet of gum in one, and said, "Ash…"

She had the same habit as Domino though dammit, "Fine, I feel like shit, _really_ tired…" He perked up a little though, "Could you give me some sleeping pills or something?"

She slowly passed him the packet, but shook her head, "Are you feeling tired _all the time?_" He nodded, "Are you eating properly?" A pause before he nodded.

"Ash…"

"Okay fine no, no I'm not."

"Anxious? Paranoid?"

He shook his head honestly, "No, I don't think so,"

"You're going through your withdrawal now it seems, you know what that is?"

"Unfortunately," He scratched as his forearm, Susan noticed but said nothing.

"Once your done in English, go see Domino okay?" Her tone was serious, "It's your job to tell her, and if I don't see her by eight, I'll know you haven't told her, because she'll have come and seen me."

He sighed, "I will Sue, don't worry,"

She offered him a smile and took his hand in her own, "Just take it easy, and if you need anything, feel free to come see me alright?"

He nodded, "Thanks Sue, see ya later,"

She gave his hand a squeeze and walked him to the door, "Take care,"

Leaving her care, he opened the packet and tossed a piece in his mouth immediately. God he was tired, how long had he visited Susan for? Half an hour? Seemed like it, maybe instead of going to pick up his stuff…

He could just go and take a rest, and then pick his stuff up later?

If by… Some _miracle_ he wasn't tired by the time he reached the dorms, he'd go back and finish- or collect his stuff. If not?

Sleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Her foot tapped on the ground repeatedly.

Was this going to become a habit? Him just not showing up whenever the hell he felt like it? One moment he's all for it, the next it's like _meh, I'mma just do this whenever I feel like it._

She was seriously going to snap at him.

She was a time bomb just as much as he was- Her foot stopped, and she got up from the bench in the weight room and started straight for the door. If he… If he was lighten up, hot boxing, getting baked- Whatever you wanted to call it.

She was going to kill him.

She was _literally _going to do it…

Where would she look for him first? He finished his English, what half an hour ago? May as well go ask Carrie- "009!" She halted in her tracks and glanced over her shoulder. Oh, just who she was looking for.

"Have you seen Ash?" Domino asked tersely, "He hasn't shown up for his work out session,"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," The red head replied, "He was looking all pale and asked for a break, he went for a walk and didn't come back,"

"Son of a bitch," Domino muttered under her breath, "Any idea where he went?"

"I suggested stopping by the nurse, maybe he's there. Came down with something?"

She sighed, "I'll find him, _chat_ with him about this."

Carrie nodded and started away, "Might be the flu," She said, "He was sweating an offal lot before he left,"

"Noted," and she inclined her head before starting towards the infirmary. If she had to go on a damn hunt around the facility for him.

She was not going to be happy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Oh god how did he end up here? Oh right, he got in deep just like the thousands before him, and now he had to do the dirty work for the higher ups.

_Bunch of Assholes._

The bright day contrasted with how cold he felt, summer in Vermillion was always a scorcher. He had the chills though, so the heat only contributed to the sweat that ran down his back.

Doing deals midday was the sketchiest thing you could pull, but it was also far less obvious then a back alley transaction at night. So here he stood, the side of an alley waiting for his customer who went by the name_ Kass_, fake identity definitely, to show up so the deal could be done.

This was his first job, being thirteen nobody would suspect him to… To well traffic drugs. So as time went on, he began to get cold feet. Who the hell would suspect a thirteen year old to deal?

Holy shit? What if Kass thought this was some sort of joke? That he was just a waste of time and this wasn't a legit deal!? What if he got the shit beat out of him to send a message!?

"_I gotta get outta here,"_ Ash whispered starting for the street at the end of the alley. He halted beside a dumpster as a large burly man with dark skin came around the corner and started his way.

He felt his heart leap into his throat as the man in baggy clothing with his hood drawn up jerked his head in his direction. Ash jerked his upwards in response and started back tracking, far enough so that they were out of view from the streets, and in the shadows.

"Sup lil man," Kass greeted in a low voice, "You ma dawg?"

"Depends," Ash replied stuffing every ounce of courage into his voice, "Big or small?"

Kass grinned showing yellow teeth beneath his lips, "Big dawg _ehrie day man!_ You got it?" He asked in shady whisper. He checked over his shoulder, stretching his neck so he could see above the dumpster.

Ash nodded rapidly, and opened the right flap of his trench coat, which was still much too large for him. "Yeah, right here," He reached into the large pocket on the inside and pulled out a white package wrapped in plastic, followed by a smaller rectangular box, "You know what's in it?"

"Ye, man," Kass reached out for the packages, but Ash pulled them away from his hands, "What choo-"

"Where's the cash?" His heartbeat picked up.

Kass shook his head, "Nah man, hand em ova. Dis ones on da house, courtesy of yoself,"

Ash stepped back, "Cash or get lost-"

Kass reached in to his purple hoodie and Ash paled seeing the dark metal of a handgun, "Give me my orda," He said pointing at the packages, the pistol held sideways, "Or I swear I'll cap you rye here rye now,"

Ashs mouth moved soundlessly as he tried to formulate a response. This… This wasn't worth getting killed over, Richard would understand, this fucking lunatic _pulled a gun on him!_

Kass pressed the barrel of the gun against his chest, and whispered, "Last chance man, I don't wanna kill you but I'll do it, I swear I wi-"

"F-Fine here take it take it!" Ash cried out shoving his hands out hysterically, "Take it, I don't want it! Go!"

Kass surprised, swiped the packages with one arm, and started backing out of the alley, "Good choice lil man, take a step dis way and I'll put a bullet in ya," At the mouth of the alley, Kass shoved the pistol back into his hoodie and disappeared around the corner.

Ash let out a shuddered breath before collapsing to ground and clutching his knees to his chest. He buried his face into his knees and choked out a sob.

Tears racked at his body as he sat huddled behind the dumpster, scared out of his mind. He hadn't signed up for that, not for being stood up at gunpoint. Would Richard give a damn though? No, he'd beat the living shit out of him for that, hell maybe kill him himself.

He wanted to run.

Just get out of Vermillion, hell out of the _Region!_

He'd just be killing himself if he did that, Richard would sent his butt-buddies after him to put a bullet in his skull, or to bring him back for an ass kicking for running.

"What are you doing!?"

He cringed and held himself tighter, "G-Go away," He whispered, "Go away!"

"Come on get up," The voice extremely irritated.

"Please… Go away!"

"_What was that?_"

"GO AWAY!" He roared leaping to his feet.

Ash gasped stumbling back against the wall next to his bed as Domino stared at him with wide shocked eyes. He was drenched in sweat, the sheets, pillow, his clothing all soaking. His chest heaved in and out, and his pulse was racing.

He stumbled to his feet ignoring Domino's intense gaze as he tore open a drawer on his dresser and remove a change of clothing.

"Ash…?" She asked slowly.

He stumbled passed her and out the door towards the staircase, "Ash!" She ordered loudly, and for the first time he disobeyed her order, choosing instead to start his descent.

"Dammit Ash!" She shouted angrily, "Ash what the hell was that!"

She followed him down the staircase, right at his heel as he pushed open the door to the bathroom and stepped inside.

She followed him in.

"What, was that?" She hissed angrily, her clipboard was clenched tightly between her fingers, "Well?!"

"You're not supposed to be in-"

"Shut the hell up!" She shouted, "Is there a good reason for you taking a nap in the middle of the day? Is there a reason for you leaping to your feet and yelling bloody murder!?"

Ash had stripped off his shirt and changed into a fresh one and was about to undo his pants, "Are you going turn around and be decent?" He asked irritably. When she turned away from him he added on,"I was tired okay? Are you happy? That's what you wanted to know right!?"

Her eye twitched, "Keep that tone to yourself dammit, I _know_ your starting your withdrawal or whatever. But that back there wasn't-"

He pressed his palms to his temple and groaned, "I was dreaming okay? A-And you showed up at a bad time, okay I… Look…" He went over to the sink and got the water running before splashing it in his face.

"I-I feel like absolute shit, its- I can't help it okay! This only started today, no I… I've felt it coming the last few-" He growled to himself as he ran his hands over his face.

"I gotta lie down," Drying his face off, he snatched his discarded clothes off of the ground and started for the door.

Domino watched as he staggered out of the bathroom and out of sight.

She stared at the door for well over two minutes before exiting the bathroom herself and starting for her own quarters.

Dammit. Dammit.

_Dammit!_

She slammed her door shut and tossed the clipboard onto her desk before leaning her head up against the wall.

That could have gone better. It really could have.

She shouldn't have gotten angry; Susan had told her that he'd be going through weird phases for the next week or so. But seeing him… Just lose his shit like that. And that wasn't even what pissed her off the most! It was the fact she was a little shaken after that.

She'd seen withdrawals before, and the effects that they caused. His anger had been caused by… By whatever the hell he had dreamed about, she wasn't going to ask.

Not for a while anyways.

It was a cowardice thought, but she was tempted to ask Giovanni to have her sent on some sort of mission, while someone came to watch over Ash.

There was _very_ little that got to her.

But… Seeing someone go through something like that again after so long.

She wasn't sure that she'd be able to last the week.

* * *

**I was thinking about postponing this chapter after one more, but the withdrawal has it's reasons for happening so soon. **

**Now I'm being careful with introducing OC's, Carrie will most likely not be used again, although might be mentioned once or twice.**

**But Susan however, I've been looking for a potential Rocket member to play Domino's spark which really gets her thinking about Ash. But I'm not going to get out of control with it, she'll come up at random times, but not very often to get things heated up.**

**I've been working on the next chapter for AOP; it's currently 5500 words, with say… I could add another 2-3K for the second half of what takes place. I may make it a two parter just to get something out****,**** but who knows.**

**Lastly, I want to thank you all for reading, and to ask for each of you to please drop in a review and tell me what you thought on the chapter. Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? What!? Drop one off and let me know!**

**Thanks again for reading and I'll see you all next time!**


	12. Partners

**Chapter Twelve**

Partners

* * *

"Where… I-I can't!" He groaned pitifully to himself, "I _can't!"_ He was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, and his back against the side of the bed. His eyes were bloodshot, with dark rings beneath them. His hair was greasy, and he was unshaven now for four days.

With a trembling hand he brought it down the length of his face, feeling the grittiness of the stubble running down the length of his jaw. D-Domino, she would understand. She would allow him to-to-to get a fix.

He picked himself up off the ground and with a shaking hand grasped the knob.

His hand retracted immediately, "No-I-hnng, I can't no.. It-" He slumped back down against his bed, head falling against the mattress, He… He couldn't no, three days and… He _needed it!_ But he _couldn't!_

He got back up and opened his door, "S-She'll- She'll get me- No I! Gah!" He turned back towards his room, entering and slamming the door shut before throwing himself down beside the bed once again.

He couldn't. He- it wasn't possible! He wasn't going to be able to last! Fucking cold turkey, _fucking _cold _turkey_!Why- Why couldn't they wean him off of the stuff like an infant? It would- God it would be so much easier!

He got to his feet, tore open the door, and left the dormitories. His entire body shaking like a chihuahua in the arctic, his foggy mind leading him somewhere.

He trudged along, garnering stares as he passed Rocket after Rocket. His arms wrapped tightly around himself in a hug, his eyes shifting between everyone he passed in suspicion. _They were speaking about him, laughing at him. _"It's not my fault!" He cried out making a few of them jump, "It's not- hnng! GAH!"

His huddled form turned a corner and his eyes looked around pleadingly, "Susan! S-Susaan!" He called out shuffling his way into the infirmary, "Sue are you here?"

His head turned to the right as he heard the small office door open, "Ash? How hav- Oh my god!" Her hands shot up to her mouth in horror as she saw him.

His entire body was pale, and covered in cold sweat. The greasy hair was stuck to his face and dangling in knots, the bloodshot red rimmed eyes with bags under them, the stubble… He hadn't eaten in the past few days, "Ash my god what- What happened to you?"

"I-I-I can't do it S-Susan I…" Ash cut off as his entire body trembled like an earthquake, "I-I _need it! _I. _Help me!"_

Her heart broke when she heard the suffering in his voice, the pain. She took him by the shoulders and gently brought him over to sit down on one of the beds, "S-Susan, do you have any-"

"No Ash, I don't," He bit his lip as he stifled a sob, "B-But don't worry okay? I'm-I'm getting you help, okay?" He nodded and she took his hand and gave it a squeeze, "Just… Just sit here, do you want a blanket?"

"Y-Yes please," he murmured nodding his head.

"Okay, I'll be right back,"

The blond went over to her office and picked up her phone. Hitting speed dial three, she waited as the phone rang.

It was soon answered, "Domino I- you need to get down to the infirmary right away," A pause, "Its… Just- Ash is here, he needs your help," There was a long pause as she listened to the Elite, "When was the last time you saw him, he looks offal, please just get down here. I'm going to try and clean him up a little,"

She hung up before Domino could reply and shook her head. She hadn't seen her own partner in more than six days! _Six!_ What had she been doing while he went through the withdrawal!?

She went over to a clean linen closet and pulled out a wool blanket, and a few clean cloths. Return to Ash she smiled at him and draped the blanket around his shoulders, "How's that? Are you warming up?"

He nodded, but she knew that he was lying when his fingers clutched the fabric in a vice grip. "I'm going to clean you up a little okay? Domino is coming down right now, she's going to come see how you're doing,"

He nodded as she went towards a sink, "How are you feeling Ash, talk to me a little. It'll help you feel better,"

"Cold," He said, "Really cold… I- you're sure you have no-"

I'm sure," She replied taking a damp cloth and running it down his face, "When was the last time you showered?"

She thought he attempted to shrug, but it was lost in his shakes, "A few days, I…nng…"

"S'alright," She whispered to him before going and looking for a razor, "After your done here, Domino is going to take you to the showers. I want you to clean yourself up okay?" She wet down his stubble and carefully began to shave him.

God Domino… How could she have let this happen?

"What happened?" Susan didn't turn around when she heard the Elites voice.

"Come see, I think you and I need to have a chat 009. Once we get Ash all fixed up," His eyes went wide and his face turned directly to hers at the words. Bad choice, "No Ash, not… You know,"

Domino kept her face blank as she regarded him, the trembling heap with a blanket wrapped tightly around his shoulders. Who hadn't bathed in a week, and need someone to help keep his hygiene together…

"Why did you call me down?"

Susan stopped midstroke on his cheek and glanced over her shoulder, "I need you to keep him under surveillance twenty four seven, I… I don't know where you've been the past few days, but it's dangerous for him to be on his own during his withdrawal. It's not safe,"

There was discomfort in her voice, Domino picked it up easily and new that Susan was treading lightly. Making sure she didn't try and sound like she was disagreeing with a higher ups duties. "Fine-"

"He needs a shower, badly-"

"I won't bath him if that's where you're going,"

"No, just take him and… Check up on him periodicly to make sure he at least uses soap and washes his hair."

"Fine is that all?"

_No that's not all! Just what the hell have you been doing all this time!?_ She kept the thoughts to herself, before helping Ash to his feet, "Keep him in bed, and away from sharp objects,"

At this Domino nodded, feeling uneasy but it didn't show. "Fine, Ash let's go,"

He did that… That grimaced smile to Susan before shuffling after her, blanket held tightly around his shoulders.

She watched him with pity, and discomfort.

The way his eyes shifted around at everything and anything that moved, looking at everything with suspicion. It truly made her sick to her stomach, she really couldn't stand it.

He was slower than when he was at his best, but not by much. He followed her directly into the bathrooms where she ordered him to shower, and dry himself off while she went and got him a change of clothing.

So he did, not _well_, but he did.

Once he was decent, she asked if he was hungry.

He was not.

And she knew that he probably wouldn't be until the withdrawal broke. So making sure to slow her pace, she brought him back to his room and watched as he lay himself down on his bed. She stood there as he pulled the sheets up to right beneath his chin, yet shiver as if he was bare naked in the snow…

"You're okay now?" She asked itching to leave.

"Ye-no- Yes," He muttered shutting his eyes tightly as his body shook.

"If you need anything. Susan, or I. You know where we are," He nodded and she flicked off his light, unsure of what to say, she merely inclined her head and said, "See ya soon," and left.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She was a coward.

A big _fucking _coward.

And a complete bitch, that to.

She sat in her room the past week working on anything she could get her hands on, related to Ash or not. That's how she spent her week, keeping herself tied up and away from Ash.

She knew that, leaving Ash to fend for himself during his withdrawal was something that he would resent her for once it broke. But she… God she couldn't handle it.

The cold sweats, stuttering, bloodshot eyes, paranoia… It honest to truly scared her. There was one thing that scared her in this world, and that was a person who did drugs. Marijuana was… She didn't like it more than any other drugs, but it wasn't at the top of the list.

It was heroin and cocaine which made her want to run and hide.

She grabbed her cup of coffee and took a long draft of it before setting it back down on her desk.

She took her pen and scribbled down a few notes of what she witnessed of Ash that day.

A few seconds later, she slammed it down on the table and placed her face into her hands.

He wouldn't leave her mind. He wouldn't leave her _freaking_ mind. She needed to write down her observations, not his comparisons with her.

She hated him! She… Why did Giovanni assign him as her partner!? Why? The stupid druggie, stupid fucking junkie!

She got up from her chair and began pacing.

It wasn't his fault though! It was her… Her… Her heartbeat began increasing as she started down that shitty memory lane.

Her fucking parents!

God she couldn't even remember them, but it was their fault she had the phobia. Making her take care of them until she was ten, where she ran away and Giovanni took her in. Them making it so that they lived in a-a-a shit hole of a home.

Unable to afford running water or heat…

But they didn't give a fuck. All they cared about was getting their next high, there next _fucking_ trip. While she watched them lose their sanity, watch them hit her without any remorse when she asked them to stop! Watch them care more about stupid fucking drugs rather than their own god damn DAUGHTER!

She sat back down onto her chair and placed her arms folded on the table before burying her face in them. She let out a long breath, trying to calm her racing pulse.

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair to her.

And… And… It wasn't fair to _him._ In more ways than one.

She was a cold person, it was a known fact. It was near impossible for her to get truly worked up over something. But in one month, Ketchum had driven her to the point where she wanted a transfer elsewhere so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.

But she _liked_ Ash. He… He was someone she was beginning to think wasn't all that bad. And the _reason_ that she was actually going along with… With this entire partner BS was because they were in the same boat.

Neither of them had parents. Both ran away. Both influenced by drugs in a way.

And after Giovanni had given _her_ a chance. That small, very small part of her who was still a scared little girl, wanted to help the scared little boy in Ash. To… Give him _his_ chance.

A chance he should have had, but was taken away, and then returned to by Giovanni…

Her head lifted from her arms as a dull knock sounded on her door. She waited a minute just to make sure she wasn't hearing things, but when she heard another feint knock, she got up from her chair and opened the door.

It was Ash.

They stared at each other for at least thirty seconds until she spoke, "What?"

She figured he scratched at the mark on his arm as the blanket moved in that vicinity, "I…" He looked lost before looking up and down the halls as if he was scared to be caught in the girls dorms, "I can- I can't sleep,"

"And?"

"I… You- I don't know what to do,"

She looked at him and then into her room. She still had at least another hour or so of work to finish, "If I… If I let you in, will you stay quiet?" He nodded humbly and she stepped out of the way. Closing the door behind him, she sat back down in her chair and picked up her pen.

Ten seconds later she looked at Ash and saw him standing still looking at the wall.

Just staring.

"You can sit," And he did, with his knees hugged to his chest, and his back against the side of the bed. She was about to add on that he could sit on the bed if he liked, but seeing the uncaring glaze in his eyes she dropped the thought immediately and turned back to her work.

Half an hour into it, and without a sound from Ash, she looked over her shoulder when she sensed movement.

He was shivering again.

_Mommy are you chilly?_

No… not chilly, just another withdrawal. "A-Are you… Are you chilly?"

He shook his head, and she knew he was lying. But made no means to do anything about it, instead going back to work.

_Go get me my-uh lighter dear. Don't wait around- shoo shoo_

Domino set down her pen and placed her palms flat down onto the desk.

She couldn't do this. She really couldn't do this.

_M-Mommy? Mommy wake up I'm hungr-_

She got up from her seat and looked directly at Ash, her hand moving unsurely at her side. She… She- just tell him to get out. That's all she needed to do.

_Then go make yourself something to eat dear, I-I-I need sleep_

_But you're always asleep!_

"A-Are you… Tired?"

He looked up at her with eyes she had seen a hundred times, nodded, and then her hand twitched again.

Just tell him to leave dammit. Tell him to get up and get out of your room!

_Can we go to the park? A fair is in town see?_

_No, mom and I… Go by yourself_

_B-But we never do anything together as a family!_

She went over to the right of his huddled form on the ground, and hesitantly sat herself down next to him. Drawing her knees up to her chest like he was doing, they sat there without a word for more than ten minutes. Until her left arm left her leg and found its way around his shoulder.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she as if on autopilot, pulled him closer to her and put her head onto his trembling shoulder.

For all she knew, he didn't even recognize what she was doing at that moment.

She… She didn't care; she pulled him a little closer.

She was going to get him clean. Do what she couldn't do for her parents.

He was worth it.

He was.

They were partners.

And… And then… And maybe, once… after a while.

Friends.

* * *

**Stuff be progressing, keeping it a pretty sraightforwards speed. Next chapter they fuck... No, I kid. Everything is pretty much the same as last update, Authors note thing at the end. **

**What do you think? Did you like the chapter? Hate, love, _loathe?_ Let me know in a review, and thank you all for reading!**

**See you all next time!**


	13. Attached

**Chapter Thirteen**

Attached

* * *

The monitor flash, and then flickered to an image of Giovanni sitting in a high back chair with his hands folded on the desk in front of him, "009,"

Sitting at her desk, she inclined her head towards her monitor, "Giovanni Sir,"

"How has it been going? Is his progress continuing at a steady rate?"

Her hand clenched beneath the desk, "Unfortunately we've hit a snag,"

"Which is?"

She sighed, "Ash has been going through his withdrawals for the past week and a half, it isn't safe for him to study or train. In fact if I even attempted to teach him something, I seriously doubt he would remember it minutes after,"

Giovanni's stone face was unreadable, "Very well, where is he now?"

"He's asleep, or at least lying awake in his room. I can only see the withdrawal lasting another day or so, but the work I've put into him has been undone. It'll take a week's recuperation, he's lost a ton of weight, muscle, and I'm not sure how much he remembers during this time. I'm going to have to re-access him,"

"Has he any idea?"

_Any idea that you had his parents killed you mean?_ "No, we haven't spoken of anything regarding his family, or what happened before. I think he believes that we know all there is to it,"

"Excellent," He then paused, "I'm going to keep this short, I'd like to have him field ready come the eighth of next month,"

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise and she reached for her clipboard and pen. That was less than two weeks away, "May I inquire why?" She asked clicking her pen.

"Those Unovian protestors have something I want, I don't know where it is, which is why I want to send you and 008 on a joint op to find and secure the item,"

"S-Sir," She stuttered, "Ash is far inadequate for a job like that! He's only had one battle session, and his alarm disabling, lock picking, silence- He's not ready for a job like this! Send me in alone, I'll find whatever-"

"I'm not sending you two in _yet,_ intelligence is far too minimal and Ashs progress is behind schedule. I merely want to see how well he does in the field,"

Her violet eyes stared at the monitor hesitantly, "What do you want me to prepare him for?"

"A minor heist, that is all," Her shoulders relaxed a little, "We'll send him to a beginner Gym. Have him infiltrate, and steal whichever Pokemon he can commandeer without being caught. That is all,"

Domino nodded as she heard Giovanni's words.

That could be done.

She could have him ready in time for this, should his withdrawal end within the next day or so. "Which Gym did you have in mind?"

"We'll start off small; the Pewter Gym will be easy enough."

"Is there a reason for Pewter? Other then it's the most simplistic of the Indigo League?"

Giovanni's lips quirked up into a smirk, "No, there happens to be a meeting of most of the Regions Leaders. I'd like to see how well Ash goes about stealing the top Pokemon in this League,"

Okay… Maybe she _wouldn't _get him ready in time for this.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She pulled out her spare key, and opened the door to his room. The lights were all off, everything was neat and tidy, everything except for the lump beneath the covers.

"Ash?" She asked softly, his dead tired eyes turned to her, "Hungry?"

He shook his head, she could see he had broken out into an intense sweat again and she sighed. Going over to his dresser, she pulled open a drawer and pulled out a dry cloth before going over and sitting down on the edge of his bed.

"How are you feeling?" She asked moving his bangs out from in front of his eyes and beginning to wipe the sweat from his face, "Sleepy?"

"I'm… I'm so tired Dom," He mumbled, eyes shutting partway, "I can't sleep though,"

She held her tongue, to keep herself from reminding him not to call her that. If she did, she doubted he would remember the next time she came to check up on him, "You'll be sleeping soon enough," She muttered, "You've almost gotten through this,"

His eyes opened a tad, and she saw for the first time in over a week an inkling of genuine curiosity, "How long has this been… Been uh going on?"

"Around a week,"

His eyes fell shut and he muttered something inaudible, "It feels like it's been weeks…" His voice trailed off into a deep breath, and she knew once again he had fallen asleep.

Even if just for fifteen minutes.

She wiped away the remaining sweat on his forehead and sighed.

She shouldn't be doing this.

She was supposed to look out for him.

Not be growing… The thought made her feel uneasy.

_Attached_ to him_._

_Never_ grow attached to someone.

_Never._

It was fine to like your partner, but never grow…

_Attached._

He could be killed in action, thrown in jail, taken hostage… And if she grew attached to him, she'd want to get him out.

And that wasn't always an option.

Especially not when you were in Team Rocket.

But… This was different; Ash was going through something which he couldn't go through alone.

He can't take care of himself, he _needs_ her…

But she could assign Susan… She could assign her to take care of him, take the burden off of her shoulders.

But something about that… It just didn't sit well with her.

Why?

She didn't know.

But it just didn't.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She left and came back a couple of hours later, when she did. Her eyebrow rose as she saw him sitting on the edge of his bed with his elbows on his knees, and head in his hands.

"You're up?"

His head rose and he looked at her in some confusion, until he surprised her with a small smile, "Are there, are there nicotine patch type things for heroin addiction?" He asked half jokingly half serious.

_Oh god it's out of him…_ She regarded him with a blank face until she tilted her head sideways, "Your better?"

"Tired… _Really_ tired, a little warm," He swallowed and looked down at his clothes and grimaced, "And sweaty,"

"Can you stand?"

When he tried, his vision swam briefly, and his movements were slightly sluggish, "Yeah, I feel all… Ironically enough all doped up," She didn't smile at his choosing over words, and gestured to his dresser.

"Let's get you showered, and if you're up for it, something to eat. After that, I want you back up here to sleep, and then we're back at it tomorrow. We've got a lot of work to catch up on,"

"Is… Is it safe though? Going back to the routine right away?"

"We'll get you checked out in the morning because we're on a short schedule, Giovanni has an assignment for you,"

He stared at her for a few seconds before nodding silently. Removing a change of clothes he followed her, albeit slowly, out the door.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She watched him much as she had done when he first arrived at the facility. After having just cleaned himself up, far better than he had done in the past week, the two of them sat alone at a table in the cafeteria.

The shower woke him up, but she could see he was close to nodding off at several points in their dinner. He barely touched his plate, but the intake was far more than it had been during the withdrawal.

"Where… Where is Zorua?" He asked quietly, "Did I… Did I do something?"

Her eyebrow rose and she shook her head, "She's fine, I've been taking care of her during your break. You'll be seeing her tomorrow though, so don't worry,"

She fought back the smile small smile that wanted to play its way onto her lips, when he let out a small breath of relief, "Good, thank you for that…" He paused, "I-I remember some stuff that happened, but it's a little foggy. Was I a-a burden on you? If I was I'm sorry,"

"No," And she meant it, "No need to apologize," She paused, "I'm just glad you're feeling better,"

He smiled at her, and she gave him a small one back.

He poked at his food before posing another question, "What was this… Assignment you talked about? What does Giovanni want me to do?"

Domino chose her words extremely carefully, Ash had so far been led into believing that he was to be _liberating_ abused Pokemon from Trainers.

Pokemon who were under the control of Gym Leaders, tended to be well kept.

"Giovanni has come to learn that a select group of Trainers are going to be travelling to the Pewter Gym for their annual gathering,"

He nodded and made a rolling gesture with his hand for her to continue, "This is a party, three days ago the Indigo League ended. And this is a gathering of the Gym Leaders," His eyebrows furrowed, "We have word from a trusted source, that the Leaders have a…"

She trailed off thinking of the proper word, "An assortment of Pokemon which they use in none-regulation battles, which are extremely dangerous and potentially lethal to the Pokemon who fight,"

"Shouldn't the authorities be notified of this?" He asked curiously, he had heard of underground Pokemon fighting from dealers who made extra profit off of the outcomes of matches.

"The Gym leaders would deny the accusations, and seeing as how each of them are all well regarded within Kanto, the charges would be dropped after minor investigation,"

Ash looked disgusted, and his pale complexion didn't help, "That's terrible, just because they're seen well in the public eye they don't get a proper investigation?"

Domino took a small risk, "The police force don't always do what's right," She said, "More often than not," His dark brown eyes darkened and she knew he knew what she was insinuating.

He poked his food one last time, before setting his utensils down altogether and pushing his tray away from him, "What is it you want me to do?"

Her eyes flashed with intrigue at his tone, it was hardened- _icy._

It fascinated her.

"Save those Pokemon," She said in a stage whisper, "Get in, secure those Pokemon, and get out."

The eyes that held her attention so raptly fell away from hers and to the table, "Will you be with me?"

His eyes looked back up and met her violet, "No," She said with a small shake of her head, "We need to see if you are capable to handle situations on your own. But you will have Zorua with you, and I'll be on radio encase you run into trouble,"

After a couple seconds he nodded, "We start back up tomorrow?"

She nodded.

"I'm going to turn in then," He stood up from the and gave her a small, yet determined smile, "I'll see you in the morning Dom, goodnight,"

She watched as he went for the door, when he was about to leave she called out to him, "Ash!"

He turned his dark brown eyes to her, "Yeah?"

"Don't call me Dom,"

* * *

**Ash has his first assignment.**

**Domino's got some off thoughts about Ash.**

**I don't believe there is anything I need to touch on about updates, all had been said last two chapters... So I guess that's it.**

**Thanks all of you for reading, and if you wouldn't mind please drop in a review of how you thought the chapter went! Did you like hate love? Let me know in a review!**

**Thanks again for reading, and I'll see you all next time!**


	14. Brilliant

**Chapter Fourteen**

Brilliant

* * *

His body ached, and his mind was exhausted.

But he couldn't have been happier.

He'd been working 24/7 the past week, exercising, eating, learning, reading, _lots_ to ensure he was ready to go on his trip to Pewter.

A small smile played on his lips as he watched Zo, he had taken to calling Zorua that shortly after seeing her again, lay so contently in Dominos lap.

He swore that the little slate fox loved her.

He had given Zo permission to roam the facility on her own will, and more so than not, she was spent alongside Domino when she was not with him.

From what he knew, she took turns sleeping in either of their rooms. One night it would be his, the next it would be Domino's.

And as far as he knew, Domino was happy with the arrangement.

So that was good for him as well.

Returning to his task at hand, he looked at the constructed building in front of him and looked to his grappling hook.

He, Domino and Zo were in the simulators, a large underground box room that could be modified into any sort of training fields.

And before him, Domino had issued what she called a one to one scale of the Pewter Gym, just without the terrain around it.

Aesthetically it looked like a warehouse with a rock front wall, there were really no security defenses, or area's for him to enter the building…

Domino had said to get creative, and then had handed him the grappling hook.

But there was nowhere for him to… Well except for the sign that read Pewter, but if he did that he'd be seen by each of the Gym Leaders at the part-

He blinked as an idea struck him.

"This is not possible to be broken into without being seen," He said aloud looking back to Domino.

Her eyebrow rose and her hand continued running through Zo's fur, "Is that so?"

He nodded and looked back at the makeshift Gym, "But it _is _easy to infiltrate, that much is for certain."

She sighed, "Oh please enlighten me with whatever mastermind scheme you have concocted," She said sarcastically, before making a rolling gesture with her free hand, "Show me,"

He grinned at her and she sighed once more, but was inwardly glad.

It seemed that with the drug out of his system, and the entire need or the craves that came with addiction gone. He had begun to show her that far more immature side of himself, whether he knew it or not.

She liked that side of him a lot.

"Yes ma'am!" He gave her a two finger salute before going to stand in front of the two doors at the front of the Gym.

Clearing his throat he called out, "I-…" His eyebrows furrowed momentarily before he looked back to Domino, "Do I have an, an what's it called… Allies?"

She blinked, "No, but if you… If you feel it is necessary, it is not uncommon for us to go under false identities,"

He nodded before looking at the doors in front of him, "Give me a name,"

_Where was he going with this?_ "I… I don't know? Shayne?" It had been her father's name.

"Perfect!" He exclaimed, "I Shayne of Viridian City challenge the Gym Leader of this Gym to a Pokemon battle!"

With the grin present on his face, he looked back to Domino, "What do you think?" His head cocked sideways, she was blinking rapidly, "Domino?"

_The idiot was brilliant._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

At first, her entire take on the assignment was for him to get in, and out without being seen or caught in the act.

But at the moment with the amount of progress they were making in his studies. He would have only been able to do that under the cover of the night.

But since the party was mid-day and the Gym Leaders would be leaving their Pokeballs at night in their individual hotel rooms, which left that out the question.

For Ash anyways.

But when he had proposed that he ask to _battle_ the Gym Leader, it forced her to reanalyze the situation.

Ash was a good thief; he was not up to her standards, but good none the less.

_He'd surpass her in due time._

But surprisingly enough, he _was_ an average battler.

An average battler who could pass for a Trainer who was just beginning their Journey…

So she had overhauled his lessons for the final week before he was due to make the heist. His tasks were his usual workouts, battling and working on techniques for a few hours straight, followed by disabling alarms and picking locks.

If they managed to cover all of those within the next few days.

He _would_ be ready.

And she believed he'd be able to do it without a hitch.

_This is only a small robbery __after all__._

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the _cha-chink_ of the lock coming undone. She stopped the stopwatch and nodded approvingly, "Nine seconds that's good," She said simply, before sliding him an electronic number lock across the table, "How fast do you think you can break this?"

Ash picked up the rectangular block with the buttons and screen on it and made a humming sound, "I…" He let out air through his nose, "You can't pick these can you? Not without triggering the anti-break-in lock,"

She nodded, "Good you remembered," reaching into her top. She pulled out a black translucent card with a gray bar code running down the side, "Should you come across one of these locks in the Gym, you should contact me and I'll hack the firmware with this from your evac okay?"

He nodded as she handed him the card which he promptly slid into his pocket, "Is there anything else?"

She pursed her lips and looked down to her clipboard, there really wasn't. They had covered everything for the day, and all that remained was to go to sleep, but they still had two or so hours.

"You're off the clock," She said offering him a small smile, "I'll clean up here, and you can feel free to do whatever you'd like,"

He nodded, "Alright, but... Could I ask you something?"

"Of course,"

She saw an emotion flicker in his eyes which stared at the table until looking into her own, "Do you think that I'll be able to pull this off?"

"The mission?" He nodded again and she could now see that what she had seen in his eyes was nervousness. Understandable, seeing as how this was his first real assignment since joining them a a month and a half ago.

"I do," She said simply, starting to return the variety of locks on the table into a cardboard box, "Your smart, quick-witted, intuitive," A pause, "You are going to do fine Ash, you are going to rescue those Pokemon without problem, and then you will be back here in no time."

Ash watched as she stood up from the table, cardboard box held against her chest. She went around the table, and when she came about next to him she said, "Do you think your going to be able to do this?"

He did, but what if he didn't? He would be a failure, a flunk, kicked out of Team Rocket without even a _how-do-ya-do?_

"I do," He replied with an unconvinced face.

After a short silence, and when he heard her reply, his doubt vanished and his frown was replaced with a smile, "Good, because so do I. You're good Ash, believe in yourself like I believe in you, and you will get through this easily alright?"

He stared at his hands, _embarrassed _to look up and meet the violet eyes of his teacher, "I will, thank you Domino,"

"There's no reason to thank me Ash, you are the one who has been giving it all you've got each day. You should be proud of yourself," And then she started towards the door, "Goodnight, I'll see you bright and early,"

When he heard her footsteps grow dim, he glanced over his shoulder quickly and watched her round a corner and out of sight. He grinned then, standing up from his seat and starting for the door.

He would do this.

Not just for himself.

But also for her.

* * *

**Fucking, fuck-fucks. I don't like the ending but dammit I needed to get **_**something out**_** so I can give you all an updates on why my updating has been garbage as of late.**

**Firstly, I have 3 projects for school all due on the exact same day. So I`ve been going Gordy-Go-Hard on those.**

**Secondly, I`m writing about 6 or 7 different things at the moment. Some Fanfiction, and some Original Work. So my mind is all over the place.**

**Thirdly, and the one ya`ll will actually care about. I have been revising, editing, doing my **_**damned **_**best to get the next chapters out for AOP+AGP. I mean, I have written 2-3 chapters that take place **_**after**_** the next update for AOP. And I just can`t get the next chap of AGP to my liking.**

**It doesn't fit in properly to the flow of the story, so I`m saying it now, don`t expect an update anytime soon.**

_**What I`ve got so far is trash.**_

**End of Rant, please drop in a review! What did you like, hate, love, **_**loathe**_**? Anything!**

**Drop in a review and let me know! I do take all feedback to heart, and use it to improve my writing for the future!**

**Thanks again and I'll see you all next time!**


	15. Junkies First Gym Battle

**Chapter Fifteen**

Junkies First Gym Battle

* * *

With a light blue backpack hanging over his left shoulder, Ash walked down the long gravel road beneath the azure sky.

On his hip, was a lone Pokeball, shining after a fresh cleaning.

Inside was his first and only Pokemon, Zo, who would be participating in this recovery mission alongside him.

He was dressed far more casual then he was used to.

A fitting pair of blue jeans, a simple black t-shirt, and ball cap were all he wore. When deciding on his outfit, Domino had suggested that the more normal he looked, the less reason to find him suspicious would appear.

Domino in question, was parked in a black sports car some blocks away with a laptop beside her, and an ear-piece connected to his own.

So with that in mind, and feeling a little more secure knowing that Domino would be able to give him advice and was not to far away, he went down a short incline and towards the building he had infiltrated in the simulators a few days ago.

Pewter Gym was not as impressive as the one he had used for training purposes. The true building showed much more wear and tear which came with age, unlike the one back home which had been built brand new.

As he approached, the first sign which alerted him that others were nearby was the mouthwatering aroma of a barbecue, and the small spiral of smoke coming from behind the building.

Walking to the front doors, large stone barriers, he pressed his hands flat alongside the seams made by the doors and pushed.

The doors groaned open on their hinges, and the light from outside appeared as a rectangle along the floor of the insides.

"Hello!?" Ash called out, his eyes searching across the gym he had entered.

The floor was a smooth steel, with a not a battlefield insight. Although the outlines of two white rectangles were placed opposite one another some seventy-five meters apart.

At the exact opposite of the gym, was a stone platform which was made of multiple layers of stone. And on the wall behind that, a large octagonal symbol made of onyx was the eye catcher of the room.

The badge, or at least an enlarged model of it, of the Pewter City Gym.

He frowned, half expecting the Gym Leader to come and greet him. But he or she was currently a no-show.

Which in itself was a problem.

The plan was as followed to rescue the Pokemon.

First, figure out how many of the guests had arrived. This was important, because from the Intel Domino had told him, each of these Gym Leaders would have one to three of these Pokemon which were used in illegal battles.

Second, was once the number was confirmed, it was to battle the Gym Leader. Apparently, if Domino was right, it was most likely a given that instead of taking Zo to a Pokemon Center, one of the Gym Leaders would go ahead and take care of her.

Which then left the third and final step.

While Zo was taken care of and left alone, he'll search the premises as a guest to the party. Once the Pokeballs are located, he retrieves as many as his bag can fit, and make an escape with Zo once they were in the clear.

"Domino? What should I do?" He asked quietly moving towards the other end of the Gym.

In his ear, was a small ear-piece which was near unnoticeable unless you parted the hair which covered it, and then looked really closely.

"It's Tulip or 009 during Ops," Her voice entered his head clearly, almost soothing what ever hesitance he had about the mission, "not my call, this is you're assignment remember. I'll help when you're in trouble, but for now, I'm merely an observer."

With that her voice cut off, and he let out a short breath.

He was on his own.

So he was going to do this his way.

Hopefully.

To the side of the stone platform, was a single push-lever door. Deciding that was the only effective way to go, he went through it. Given the size of the building, the hallway he entered would lead him to the second floor, or a few one off rooms.

He moved with an amble curiousness, or at least that was what he was going for. As he moved, his eyes read each of the labels on the few passing doors.

From what he saw; bathrooms, janitorial, spare, none of those would likely be holding the Pokemon he was looking for.

So turning a corner, he came to a T intersection. On the left, a stair case leading up, to the right, an exit which would lead to the back of the Gym.

From the smell of the barbecue, and the smoke he had seen when he arrived, it would be a safe bet that the Gym Leaders were out back.

So going right, he opened the door with the red EXIT sign above it, and stepped once more into the daylight.

And his assumptions were correct.

He suspected only Gym Leaders, but no, running around were also at least a dozen kids of a variety of ages.

They looked eerily the same, as if cloned from the same person.

Anyways, he spotted the Gym Leaders.

Off to the side of the garden, one which was a flat green grass with a brown picket fence set around the rectangular perimeter, was a long table covered by a pure white table cloth with a variety of foods atop.

Around the table, were three males, and four females. A fourth male, had an apron tied around his waist, and was currently flipping burgers.

This certainly did not look like the kind of underground Pokemon Battling he had been expecting.

The man working the barbecue, with black pointy hair much like the children, looked away from the grill and his way.

The man who wore an orange long sleeved sweater with the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of dark cargo pants set down spatula and wiped his hands on his apron.

"Hi there!" He said with a nod, and now the others attention had been drawn to the barbecue'r and then to himself.

"Uh, h-hi," Ash said hesitantly meeting the man halfway across the garden.

"Can I help you with something? Are you lost?"

"Eh lost? Oh no, I'm actually looking for the Gym Leader of this Gym,"

The mans eyebrow raised, "Well you've found him," he held out his hand, "Brock Harrison, Pewter Cities Gym Leader, how can I be of service to you?"

His lip wanted to quirk upwards, oh so badly it did, but he kept it down, "I'm here to challenge you to a Gym Battle!"

Silence greeted him, and his eyes shifted between Brock and the Gym Leaders who seemed amused by his request, "What?" Ash asked finally breaking the silence, "What did I say?"

A girl at the table, with bright orange hair answered him, "The Indigo season is over, there aren't any more gym-battles for another two months,"

_'No... No Gym battles? Well... Fuck.'_

Unsure of how to reply, he simply said, "Huh?"

Brock answered this time, "At the end of each League season, Gym Leaders are given two months for proper Gym repairs, and a period to ready their Pokemon for the coming season."

"S-So..." He trailed off, mind working rapidly to come up with a way to get the battle to take place, "So I came all this way for nothing?"

The Gym Leader seemed intrigued, "All this way?" His eyes went from Ashs eyes and down to his hip were the single Pokeball rested, "I'm sorry to ask, but are you a beginning Trainer?"

"That's right, and I only recently got my starter so Pewter was the first city I decided to take on,"

"Aren't you a little old to just be beginning your Journey?" The orange haired girl asked.

"The kid is probably trying to get his ten minutes of fame before his chance is taken away from him," This time an older guy, in army fatigues, with spiked blond hair said with a deep laugh.

_'Hilarious,'_ Ash thought wearily_, _"No actually, I've been working the last twelves years of my life after my parents death to provide for myself. I haven't been able to become a Trainer until recently,"

There was an edge in his tone, and the grin that was on the military buffs face was dispelled in an instant, looking back to Brock who now had a serious look on his face, he said, "I came all this way for a battle, will you expect my challenge?"

"Take him on Brock," the orange haired girl said with a smile, "we could use some entertainment around here,"

The Pewter Gym Leader nodded to himself thoughtfully, before conceding with a tilt of his head, "Sure, why not,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

So returning to the open area of the Gym, the other Gym Leaders and the dozen or so kids stood on the metal balcony along the wall for the observation of the Gym Battle.

Brock stood in the square painted in front of the stone platform, while he stood opposite near the doors.

Acting as referee, was an older man in a red Hawaiian shirt who introduced himself as Blaine, the Gym Leader of Cinnabar Isle to the south.

"Make me proud 008," Ash blinked at the sound of Domino's voice appearing out of the blue, "I'm watching,"

Without turning his head, something he would have done if he hadn't been trained by Domino, his eyes looked across to the top right hand corner of the gym where a surveillance camera over looked the field.

"This will be a one on one battle between the Pewter City Gym Leader Brock and the Challenger Shayne, will the Gym Leader please call out their Pokemon!"

"Usually Trainers who come to challenge me have at least two Pokemon," Brock said reaching behind his back to a red and white sphere, "But since this is a one on one, I'll have to make sure I start and finish big!"

Saying so, he threw the red and white orb spiraling into the air, where it burst open in flash of white light.

The Pokemon which materialized had Ash leaning back to get a full view of the monster whose head just barely kept from touching the roof.

"W-What Pokemon is that?" Ash voiced in surprise, it was a massive rock snake, with large, surprisingly friendly eyes.

"This is an Onix," Brock replied simply, "shouldn't you have a Pokedex if you're a beginning Trainer?"

"I... I didn't get a Pokedex when I received my Pokemon," Ash answered back removing his Pokeball from his hip, "Come on out!"

The ball whizzed away and across the field, before opening, and releasing the small fox in a flash of white.

"A Zorua?" Brock asked confused, "Where did you get a Zorua as your starter?"

_'Oh... Never thought about that,'_ Thinking quickly he replied, "My girlfriend got her for me so I could start my Journey,"

"Girlfriend?" Not Brock, but the blond who was listening in through the earpiece said with some hostility.

"Thinking quick," He muttered so that Brock wouldn't pick it up, but the built in mic would.

"So you're from Unova then?"

_'I guess now I am,' _he thought,_ "_That's right,"

Brock seemed surprised, but said no more, "So shall we begin?"

On cue, Blaine raised his hand into the air like he was about to karate chop and proclaimed, "Let the battle begin!"

"Onix use Tackle!"

Ash knew the counter right away as the monstrous snake coiled and sprung forward towards Zo, who looked like a spec compared to it.

"Zo use Detect followed right by Attract!"

Zo's eye sparkled, and right as the giant head smashed into her, she leapt half a meter to the right unharmed, and turned to face Onix.

Flicking her head, as if hair were blocking her eyes, she winked and large pink hearts materialized out of the blue and went drifting drunkenly towards the Pokemon who had begun to recompose itself.

Ash grinned as Brock called an order to dodge the attack, but knowing that it was near impossible to miss unless properly countered, the attack struck and causing the rock giants eyes to be covered by two large hearts.

"Zo use Sucker Punch and move in!"

With a short howl, Zo dashed forward, paws kicking up little clouds of dirt with each step, and leapt up at Onix with both front paws misting a dark purple.

Zo swung a quick uppercut at the towering, love-struck Pokemon, and fell composed back onto all fours.

"Onix snap out of it!" Brock shouted.

"Tackle and then use Sucker Punch on Onixs head to snap em' out of it!"

Zo pushed off of the ground, throwing her shoulder into Onix who was pushed back by the force, before landing on the ground once more and launching back into the air fist misting once more.

The attacked connected right beneath the heavy stone jaw, and Onix's reeled backwards like a tower about to collapse, but came too, and shook its head out dazed.

"I'll admit Shayne," Brock said praisingly, "I didn't expect you to do as well as you have so far,"

He was currently sticking with the name Domino had given him for mission use. Merely nodding in response, Brock added on, "I see I'll have to try harder. Onix sweep Zorua with your tail, and then use Tackle!"

With a bellowed roar which shook the Gym floor, Onix, with a whip like action swung its massive tail horizontally towards Zo.

There was only one counter that came to mind directly, "Detect!"

From the trainers box, Ash watched the tail swing like a baseball bat into Zo, who took the full brunt of the attack, and was sent sailing into the wall of the Gym.

From above, he heard the Gym Leaders and children cheering, for Brock of course.

Right after the attack connected, Onix coiled like a cobra about to strike, and launched forward like a projectile towards where Zo was laying in a pile of rubble.

"ZO DODGE IT!" Ash cried out.

Onix exploded into the wall of the stadium with an ear shattering CRACK! Ash stared bleakly for some sign of Zo, but she was either beneath the rock snake, or hidden in the dust created by the rubble.

And then he heard minor explosions, one after another a muffled Bang! Bang! Bang! Until Onix's head snapped back, and a dark blur shot into the air.

Staring in disbelief, Ash watched as Zorua opened her mouth and formed a ghostly sphere of dark purpley energy, before launching it at Onix where it exploded upon contact.

What was that move called? Dark Energy? Shadow Pulse? No wait- "Zo run back towards me, and then use Dark Pulse!"

She responded immediately, and Ash saw that she ran over to him with a small limp.

Bracing herself on all fours, she slid to a halt in front of him, and let loose another Dark Pulse which whizzed across the field and into the Rock-Types side.

"Onix use Take Down!"

"Dodge and use Dark Pulse!" Onix speared the ground where Zo stood, but missed as she leapt up and out of the way, unleashing another dark sphere of energy.

"Take Down again!"

Ash retaliated the same way, ordering a counter with Dark Pulse, before grimacing. '_Onix should be nearing exhaustion, and Zo has put up far longer then I expected. We need to end this. Fast.'_

Zo came to a stop in front of him, chest heaving in and out with exertion as she stared up at the towering Pokemon, "Zo listen to me!" Ash called out, "Next time he uses Take Down, dodge, but move towards Onix and use Sucker Punch!"

_'With Onixs momentum coming directly towards Zo, and Zo's momentum moving towards Onix. If she strikes, the attack should carry more leverage.'_

On Brocks call, Onix shot forward, and Zo tensed her legs.

When the snake was close enough, she launched forward with her paw misting the eerily purple, directly for it.

The two collided and Ash watched as Zo seemed to have halted the Pokemon a hundred times her size in place.

BANG!

An explosion rippled out between where the Pokemon touched, sending both hurling backwards.

Or falling over more so in the Rock-Types case.

"Zo!" Ash cried out as his Pokemon partner somersaulted across the dirt field to a stop in a pile of dust.

The Onix was in no better condition as it remained motionless.

"The first Pokemon to stand will be the victor of this battle!" Blaine called out from the side lines.

Ash didn't care if they won the match, seeing Zo lay motionless on the field had his heart in his throat with worry.

She's never that still unless she was asleep.

Ash heard the ground rumbling as Onix seemed to attempt to lift itself off of the ground. "Zo... Zo!"

From where he stood, he saw the little foxes ear twitch at the sound of his voice, "Stay down Zo, it's alright!"

But she didn't.

Ash could see the strain on her as she rolled herself onto her stomach, and then with great effort pushed herself onto four shaking legs.

"Zo..." He whispered seeing the pain on her face as she glared at the rock giant who was just regaining its bearings.

There was silence through the gym as the two Pokemon stared at one another, both on the verge of collapsing.

"Alright Onix!" Brock called out, "Let's finish this with one last Take Down!"

Ash watched the massive snake inhale one last long breath, and when it let it out, it's eyes seemed to roll back into it's skull.

The monstrous snake came crashing to the ground.

"The Gym Leader is out of remaining Pokemon, the winner is the challenger Shayne of the Unova Region!"

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-_

From inside the black SUV, Domino stared at the laptop monitor in disbelief.

She hadn't expected him to win.

God she didn't.

He was far to inexperienced.

But my God did he stun her right then and there. The fact, that he managed to take down a Gym Leader without any real prior battling experience, (The training, and trial battle against Archer were strictly tests) astounded her.

She saved the recording of the battle from the security feed to her laptop to show the Boss later on, and returned her attention to the security monitor as Ash met the Gym Leader halfway on the battle field.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

With Zo in his arms, held gently of course, Ash gave Brock a small nod, "Fun battle," He said, "I won't forget it,"

Brock responded with his own, and reached into his pocket, "I'm not supposed to do this until the season starts back up again," He said, "but after seeing your display, and how well you battle for a beginner, you've earned it,"

Pulling out from his pocket, Brock turned over his hand so that his palm was out flat, and onto was the Pewter City Gym badge.

Carefully taking one hand away from Zo, he reached out and took the small metal badge into his hand, "Thank you," Ash said, "it was a real learning curve for me,"

"Now that this is out of the way, why don't you join us for dinner?"

Ash shook his head, "I'm afraid I have to decline, I've got to take Zo here to the Pokemon Center,"_ Unless you want to offer up-_

Brock shook his head, "We can treat her here," He said, "we've got a place where we keep our Pokemon to rest after battles,"

Ash kept the smirk of his face,_ 'Bingo."_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The room he was shown to had multiple shelves with round grooves where Pokeballs would be placed. In most of those, were the items in question. So after a quick discussion of leaving Zo out of her ball while they went outside, Ash left her behind for the meantime and back outside.

"That was a great battle," The Cerulean Gym Leader Misty said from across the table, "I can't wait for you to stop on by Cerulean," She paused, "You are going to come challenge the Gym, right?"

Ash nodded slightly, "Eventually, I want to do some more training however before hand. Maybe catch another Pokemon or two,"

"Wise decision," Blaine said, "You won't get very far with only a single Pokemon on your team, no matter how much experience they get,"

"So why did you decide to enter the Indigo League before-"

"Erika! Really at the table?" Ash glanced right as the Fushia Gym Leader Janine looked disapprovingly at the Celadon Gym Leader Erika, who was holding a lighter and a-

His eyes transfixed on the thin rolled up object in her hand, "What, it doesn't hurt anyone," She said in a complacent tone.

"It stinks though,"

Oh it does, but... Ash gulped and turned his eyes away from the drug he was all to familiar with.

She lit it anyway, and the thick stench of marijuana coated the area around the table.

_'Oh man... Oh man...'_ Ash kept his gaze focused solely in front of him as Erika asked if anyone would like a turn, they all declined.

He however, was itching (Literally as he had begun scratching his arm) to ask her to pass it over to him-

_"You've mingled long enough,"_ Domino's voice came through, although a lot sterner, for the exact reason he knew.

Ash cleared his throat, "I-I uh need to use the restroom,"

Brock nodded, "You saw where it was inside right?"

Ash nodded and stood up from his seat, "I'll be right back," However before he turned completely away from the table, his eyes were drawn once more to the smoking stick held between Erika's fingers.

He forced himself to look away, and go back into the Gym.

He should have asked, Domino wasn't there so she wouldn't have been able to stop him. And besides, he wasn't shooting up, just getting high! That doesn't kill, you can't OD on marijuana!

Grunting, he knocked on the door Zo was in and said, "Zo, open up,"

From the inside, he heard the click of the lock and the door opened without a sound.

He stared at the person who stared back at him with apprehension.

Zo had the strange ability to transform into other Pokemon. But not only other Pokemon, but people as well.

So right now he stared face to face with Domino. Well Domino with a bushy black tail that is...

"Change back you," He muttered lightly, closing the door behind him.

She did, and smiled up at him.

Taking his bag off of his shoulder, he undid a pouch and looked at each of the Pokeballs on the shelves.

With each he took, he replaced with an empty which he had packed before the mission to by time. He worked fast, switching the Pokemon out, and when he had each of them, he redid up his bag, slung it over his shoulder and took Zo into his arms.

"Package secure 009, I'm ready for evacuation,"

He paused in front of the door,_ "Leave out the front and head east, I'll be there,"_ Her voice cut off, and he opened the door.

Stepping into the hallway, he went right instead of left towards the battlefield. He walked quickly, and he soon found himself crossing the field, and stepping out through the heavy doors he had entered a little over an hour ago.

He walked down the path, one foot after another, and never glanced back. Turning left at the end of the path, he spotted the glossy black SUV driving directly for him.

It ground to a halt on the gravel road, and he opened the side door, climbing inside. Shutting the door, Domino put the vehicle into reverse and drove back twenty feet to an intersection.

Going left down the intersection, the two drove for the city gates.

"Take the laptop and hit control e," She said without looking away from the road ahead.

He did, and a bar came up, overlapping the screen which had a security feed running, that read 'erasing data.'

And just like that, his first assignment came to a successful end.

* * *

**So... This is awkward? How long has it been for this story? Four, five months? Well I'm dealing with minor writing block on AOP and AGP, so I was like "Hey, why not go back to Spark?" So I did!**

**So tell me guys, did you love, hate, loathe, anything in this chapter!? If you did, or if you've got any general comments about it, please let me know in a review!**

**Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you all soon! (I think... Maybe...)**

6800


	16. A Year Gone By

**Chapter Sixteen**

A Year Gone By

* * *

Before he knew it, a year had gone by since he had joined Team Rocket.

Since the day of his first liberation, Ash had traveled across half a dozen regions, rescuing abused Pokemon, and setting them free of their abusive Trainers.

Slowly, but steadily, he improved in his skills.

He had learned the basics, moved into advanced, and then Elite training, all taught by the blonde who he recently learned was to become his partner.

These days, it was rare to not see one of them without the other. Where one was, so was the other.

Well except when Domino had a meeting with Giovanni that is. He spoke with Giovanni rarely, but after every mission Domino conveyed Giovanni's praise to him.

Domino in question, had become his best friend, something she most likely did not know.

She wasn't as hostile towards him as she had been in the past, they were close, and he liked to consider themselves friends.

After being in each others company for a year, spending nearly every hour of the day with one another, he believed this was the case.

He had also kicked his addiction to the curb, only rarely when stressed out feeling the want to get a high.

It had truly been the greatest year of his entire life, for the first time in his life he felt like he had a home.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She shifted her eyes to the young man who sat beside her, eyes closed as he slept with his head leaning against her shoulder.

Domino felt the temptation to rest her own against his, but kept still.

It had been a year, a strange one. But a year since she had taken Ash into her care.

Where he had begun as a nuisance to her, he had grown to be... Someone she enjoyed being around, someone who she didn't mind spending her time with.

In fact, she encouraged their time together.

And she knew exactly why.

But God she kept silent about it. Since the beginning, she knew that... That... Relationships were out of bounds for her.

These weren't orders.

But rules she set for herself.

Then again she never did expect to find someone she may...

May come to like...

Her partner, the once drug addict and runaway, had some how...

Managed to steal her affection.

How this came to be, she did not know.

After a year of being constantly in each others presence, talking to each other for hours at a time, and just... Being together, he had enraptured her with his personality.

She... Liked him.

This was totally unacceptable, something she had never thought possible had come true.

With every day that passed, she was lying to him, feeding him false information about his job and reasons for being in Team Rocket.

His parents were killed by the very organization he worked for.

His job was stealing Pokemon to sell on the black market, not saving them from abusive Trainers like he had been led to believe.

Part of her job while she trained him was to keep him unaware of both of these facts. To keep him from learning that he had been living a lie for the last year.

His skills, even after such a short time, had begun rivaling her own.

He already surpassed her in unseen movement and silence. And soon she believed he would be ready for high level assignments alongside her.

Which, they were about to test in a few hours.

To see if Ash was ready to become her number eight.

If he did, they would officially be partners, going into the field alongside one another for the foreseeable future.

She had hated the idea of a partner when she had learned that she was to be paired up.

But now she loved the idea of working alongside the nineteen year old she had trained since the day he arrived.

But it also scared her.

She had grown far to attached to him, far more then she believed possible.

If something were to happen to him during an assignment, would she be able to finish without him? Would she be able to leave him behind if things got out of hand?

It was a rule, that should a double-o be compromised, they be left behind.

When becoming a double-o, there were guidelines you had to undertake to prove your allegiance to Team Rocket.

One of those would be a sworn silence when taken hostage, or, that your life is more valued then those of your comrades.

Including other Elites.

She felt claustrophobic when thinking of that.

That Giovanni had simply been testing her since the beginning to see if she really was all that she made out to be.

Would she leave Ash behind when he was captured, or possibly on the verge of death?

She wasn't so sure she knew the answer to that.

She jumped in her seat when she felt movement.

Ashs head left her shoulder, and she watched as he yawned and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Are we there yet?" He asked tiredly, looking past her and out the window of the jet black plane, and into the twilight outside.

She shook her head, "Soon, you can still rest if you need it, we've still got two hours until drop,"

He hummed quietly, until he looked at her seriously, "Have you slept at all Dom?"

She had long since given up on asking him to stop calling her that, and more or less accepted that was his nickname for her was.

Shaking her head, she flashed the clipboard she held in her hands to him, "Paper work," She replied simply, "I've been behind ever since your trip to Johto,"

He leaned close to her to get a look, and she smelt the musky scent of the shampoo he used, "When was the last time you slept?"

"Over twenty four hours ago,"

He looked at her in surprise, and took the clipboard away from her, "Sleep then," He said pulling the clipboard away from her as she reached for it, "I'll get this done for you,"

"Ash," She was about to scold him, but stopped at the serious gaze which fixated on her eyes.

"It's not healthy Dom," He said, "especially when we're about to go on a mission. So sleep for a few hours, and I'll wake you with fifteen to spare before drop,"

She sighed, "Are you sure?" She asked tentatively, "I can sleep on the return trip-"

He smiled at her, "Sleep Dom, you shouldn't overwork yourself. You do enough as is, so just take it easy for a bit,"

In saying so, Ash turned his eyes to the clipboard, clicked the pen which had been clipped to the board, and got to work.

She watched him for a few seconds, until leaning back in her seat, and closing her eyes.

Thinking about it, one of the other reasons he... He had captured her affection.

Was maybe because he worried about her.

Something she couldn't say she had experienced before.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She awoke as soon as she was sure she had fallen asleep to her being gently shaken awake.

She blinked twice, and saw Ash standing next to her her, hand placed lightly on her shoulder, "Times up Dom, we need to get ready."

She nodded, and went to rub her eyes when she realized a blanket had been placed over her.

Her lip quirked upwards, she couldn't fight it this time, and she stood herself up, setting the blanket on her seat.

They walked towards the door of the plane, and each took one of the black backpacks which hung next to it.

They put them on, buckled the straps around their chests and waited quietly, listening to the low hum of the propellers.

The lights in the cabin dimmed to a low glow, and a voice came over the speaker, "ETA one minute, wait for decompression,"

The cabin grew cooler and the pressure seemed to drop drastically. Above the door, a red light flickered to a bright green.

"Ready number 8?" Domino asked grabbing hold of a hand grip over head, while her other gripped the handle of the door.

He grinned, "Ready Tulip,"

She pulled on the lever, and the door slid to the side.

The low hum of the propellers amplified into a bone rattle buzz, and the cold air from the night outside blasted them through the open door.

Ash stepped up to the open door, looking down the thousands of feet to the earth below, "Clear for drop!" The voice came once more.

Ash looked back momentarily to Domino, gave her a quick nod, and fell forward out of the plane.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The wind screamed into his ears as he plummeted towards the bright lights of Celadon below, where cars raced down freeways, citizens walked about with their significant others on this Valentines day night.

His eyes were locked on the tallest hotel in the city, where the roof seemed to breach the clouds themselves, and the bright florescent lights lit all of the city.

He had been to Celadon a few times in his life, all for reasons he wish he hadn't come for.

But this was his first time since joining with Team Rocket.

He fell towards the ground, unnoticeable to those on the ground, and began reaching for the cord which hung on his chest.

When he was still a hundred feet above the roof of the hotel, he tugged the cord, and in an instant his free fall came to a stop.

Bursting free from the black bag on his back, two wings sprouted from the side and raised into the air, while a bar protruded out, down around him to his hands.

The backpack hang-glider were a neat invention, which became extremely useful for unseen infiltration.

Although the first time he used it, he had nearly passed out from fright.

He no longer felt that.

Ash glided across the night sky, unsee-able unless you were truly looking for him. Otherwise he would simply be mistaken for a flying Pokemon.

As he descended, the hotel steadily came closer and closer towards him.

The bright lights from the open windows shone out at him, and he licked his lips as he dipped down another five feet.

His eyes locked on his target, an open window on the forty fourth floor, and he placed his right thumb on the lone button on the handle bar.

He closed in on the window, the hotel walls rushing towards him with blinding speed.

Still a little above the window, and a meter from crashing into the building, he pressed the button.

The hang-glider retracted back into the bag, and with the momentum given to him, he was sent clearly through the open window, where he somersaulted twice on the floor before rolling too his feet.

The hallway he entered was empty, not a soul in sight.

This was preplanned of course, as was the window which had been opened hours before by an undercover agent.

Ash unbuckled the backpack, tossed it to the side, and unzipped his jump suit.

He tossed that to the side as well and straightened out his clothing.

A tuxedo, perfectly unwrinkled, and the first button on his dress shirt undone.

Brushing down his hair with one hand, he started down the hall and for the elevator around the corner.

Turning it, he gave a small nod to Domino, who was walking towards him in a one shouldered, short little back dress.

Her hair was surprisingly unaffected by the wind, and personally, although he would never say so aloud.

"You look beautiful,"

His eyes widened in surprise, and she blinked seemingly surprised at his words as well.

"O-Oh..." She said hesitantly, "Well... Thank you..."

She took hold of his arm, and pushed the button to call the elevator, "Y-You don't look half bad yourself,"

There were a few seconds of strained silence, but disappeared once the elevator doors rolled open and they stepped inside.

They felt the elevator begin its descent, and stood quietly as they waited for them to arrive on the main floor.

As they waited, the low melody of a band began reaching their ears, and then when the doors opened once more, they looked out to the dozens of well dressed men and woman who were either dancing in the center of the room, or standing around in groups chatting with one another.

Ash glanced to his soon to be partner, "Shall we?"

Domino nodded, and together they stepped out into the music filled ballroom, beneath the large glass chandelier, which no doubt cost at least a hundred thousand dollars, judging from the gems which dangled from each golden ring.

They walked through the crowds, around the dancers, and to the opposite side of the room, "How long until he arrives?" She asked him quietly, violet eyes roaming over the hall.

Ash pulled back on his sleeve, and checked his wristwatch, "Four minutes," He said seeing the little hand on the twelve, and the big hand just a little past the five.

"Are you sure you'll be able to get it?" She asked looking up to him, "I can-"

He smiled down at her, "Don't worry Dom," He said reassuringly, "this is a cake walk compared to the other assignments I've been on,"

She looked away from him momentarily and across to the front entrance, an arched opening where their first target would be entering any moment.

His words were both reassuring, and unsettling.

She was glad he sounded confident in his abilities, she was confident in them as well.

But there was a reason this was a joint operation.

Beneath the Garden Central Hotel, laid a vault accessible through one door, and one door only.

The security was top notch compared to the heists Ash had partaken in so far, and would require both of them to reach it.

What was in the vault, neither of them knew.

But Giovanni wanted it, and they were to retrieve it.

So right now, they had to get the master key, where only one existed and was held by the owner of the Garden Central Hotel chain, Marten Snow.

That was Ashs job first and foremost, retrieve the key. Once he had that, she would be tasked with leading the way down to the vault.

Right now nobody suspected a robbery, for this was Mr. Snows fifty sixth birthday, and he had invited guests from across the world.

So a couple these people had never seen before would not be suspicious

Although Ash had become a wanted character nationally. He had stolen Pokemon from famous Trainers across the globe. Gym Leaders, wealthy corporate business men, and his most recent capture, Champion Cynthia's Garchomp.

That Pokemon was sold quite high on the market, which reflected in their pay greatly.

But here, these men and woman had little interaction with the battling, and coordinating circuits, meaning they wouldn't know, or care about some Pokemon thief.

So his appearance could go without disguise.

"Just... Don't get ahead of yourself," She said quietly, and turned once more to look at him, "over confidence-"

"Can be your downfall, I know Dom, I'll be careful,"

She had trained him well, and after this mission was put to rest, she had been told by Giovanni that they would be given a vacation -a short one- but a vacation none the less.

This was something she had never had before, as she saw no reason why to take one.

And she so far had kept this to herself, to reward Ash with once they finished.

What he would want to do, whether with her or not, she didn't know.

Frankly, she didn't know what to do yet herself.

"Good," She looked back to the front entrance as the music trailed down into silence, and the chatter around them fell deaf.

The guests all started gathering around the entrance, and the sound of footsteps was heard above all else, "Looks like the guest of honor has arrived," She said softly.

"I'll be right back,"

Before he had taken a single step, she squeezed his arm lightly on instinct, and he looked back to her eyebrow raised.

She wasn't sure why she did it, maybe her nerves, or... Or something.

So she just said the first thing that came to mind, "Just don't get ahead of yourself,"

He smiled at her, nodded, and started for the crowd.

She watched his back, and then found herself growing anxious when he entered the large pit of people.

Not once had she felt such discomfort on a mission, not for any reason what so ever.

This was a fairly straight forward assignment. Get in, grab the objective, and get out.

She had done this hundreds of times in the past without fail.

But now that she... She actually cared for the person she was working with, her attention was one hundred percent committed to the objective at hand.

It was very possible, that Giovanni had made a mistake in finding her a partner.

She waited against the wall, violet eyes searching over the crowd, and listening to the speech Marten Snow was giving to his guests.

A few minutes went by, and slowly the guests returned to their groups of idle chattering, or going over to wish Snow best of his birthday.

She wasn't altogether sure as how Ash would go about taking the key. Intel suggested that Snow kept it within the pocket on the inside of his jacket.

But then her eyes drifted across to the far left where she saw the raven haired young man part from the crowd, and begin making his way over towards her.

She felt the anxiousness drift away as he approached, "Ready to go?" He asked smiling and reaching out and taking her hand.

She was momentarily surprised by the action, but as their fingers locked together, she felt the transfer of a thin metal item from his hand to hers.

So she smiled up at him, and pulled him away from the ballroom and for the hallways of the hotel.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When they left the eccentric atmosphere of the ballroom, and into the hallways where the music had fallen to quiet background noise, Domino led Ash through a maze of hallways, through the lobby, and finally down one final hall to a door which had the sign 'Janitorial' engraved above it.

She opened the door, stepped inside and pulled him in surprising him.

She closed the door behind them, and squinted in the dark, "So... Why are we in a closet?" He asked skeptically.

"Quiet," She muttered releasing his hand, which felt amazingly warm in her own, and looking to the small key.

"Look for a keyhole," In the blueprints of the hotel, there had been one area of the hotel that showed that no rooms had been built in the area, despite the large space presented in it.

This was right next to the janitors closet, which if removing the wall opposite of the door, would reveal another room, or some sort of passage.

She felt around the wall, looking for the small groove which would reveal the keyhole, and behind her Ash was doing the same.

She moved aside a few buckets, to peer behind a shelf, but she startled when she felt Ashs hand land on her waist, spinning her around and pulling her up against him.

Before a single sound escaped her, he had pressed her up against the wall of the closet and placed his lips onto hers.

Her entire body went ridged, and her eyes shot open wide at the action.

The heat which radiated from how their bodies touched, and the way he-

She heard the turning of the door handle, and the door pulled open.

Quickly snapping her eyes shut, she heard the faint startle of surprise as a worker noticed them.

The feeling of his lips left her own, and she opened her eyes to see Ash turning to look over his shoulder to the worker, a sheepish grin on his bright red face.

The worker merely cleared his throat awkwardly, grabbed a mop and bucket from the side of the closet, and closed the door behind him, leaving with the tools.

And then Ash slowly turned back to look at her, whose cheeks matched her own, "I-I heard someone coming, and this kind of thing happens at events like this..." He stated awkwardly.

She wasn't altogether sure what to think, but... "I-I... I understand..." The room felt uncomfortably warm, "Good... Thinking..."

He nodded, "Right..."

A few seconds of silence passed between them, "C-Can you get off me now?"

His eyes snapped wide open at how close they were, and he stepped back, not looking where, and slipped on a bottle of cleaner.

He fell back into the wall, and into a pile of miscellaneous cleaning supplies.

She shut her eyes, trying to stop her furiously beating heart, and sighed.

Until she looked back up surprised, did she hear...

She moved towards the wall Ash had fallen against and knocked three times on it. The sound reminiscent of knocking on a hollow log sounded with each beat, and she started feeling around.

Her hand ran over the wallpaper, and she eventually felt an almost unnoticeable indentation.

She took the small key, and pushed it into where she felt the grooves.

It pierced the wallpaper, and went in perfectly, she turned it, and heard the sound of gears turning.

Ash stood beside her, and listened as the gears seemed to turn for a solid fifteen seconds until a single, _Click_, sounded.

Ash reached forward, and pressed on the wall.

A small crack of light appeared, and he pushed open a small rectangle, just shorter then a regular sized door, and stepped through, Domino right behind him.

The short hallway they entered was a little more then a meter in width, and they walked close together down the ceiling lit, white tiled floor.

They moved around corners, and felt like they were steadily going down an incline.

They eventually came to the end of a hall, where a steel door took up the entire end, except for a touch keypad to its right.

Domino squeezed passed Ash, fighting back her blush as they rubbed against each other, and stopped in front of the door.

She reached into her small black purse, and removed a tablet, which she connected to the keypad by a USB cord she pulled from her purse.

Ash watched her work, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds as if expecting someone to find them.

There was a three tone beep, and he heard the sound of a heavy lock undoing.

Domino pushed open the door and slowly walked inside.

The room looked like a bank vault, the sides were lined with shelves of bundles of paper bills, and the room itself lit by florescent lights built into the ceiling.

"So what is it we're looking for?" He asked over her shoulder, "all there is is money..."

She looked carefully around the room, "Don't touch any of the money," She said going over to the shelves opposite of the door, "look for a switch... Or... Button or something,"

The room was pretty plain, nothing but the shelves, and money down the length of it. But Ash checked for seams as to where hidden doors, or safes could be.

The shelves parted a meter apart from each other, and he hummed quietly. Reaching forward he knocked on the wall, and heard no sounds of hollowness. He did this with each and received the same answer.

Unless there was something behind all of the cash... No, he would be able to see the seams if that were the case, even if well hidden.

So that left...

He looked at the floor, a single long slab of concrete. There was no indication whatsoever that this room had been entered for quite some time.

"Ash," He looked up to Domino, who was waving him over to the shelf at the farthest back, "Push from the left,"

On each side of the back shelf, there was a space where it cut off before hitting the corners of the room.

Going to the side, he placed his shoulder against the side, and braced himself.

And then gritting his teeth, he pushed against the shelf. At first there was no movement like he suspected, but then, he heard the slow clicking as if the shelf itself were on some sort of track.

As he pushed, his eyes watched the ground and saw that the shelf was built onto some sort of conveyor belt, which supported it off the ground just enough, to be able to be pushed.

And on the roof, the top of the shelf was attached by a pulley system.

When it hit the end of it's track, Ash saw a single door revealed, like the one before but with an old turning lock.

Domino walked up to it and frowned, "I'm going to say that I get two attempts and then an alarm will go off,"

His eyebrow rose, "And why do you say that?"

"The first time, a mistake could have been made. Doing it a second time, I'd like to be warned about who was trying to get in my vault. And the only one who would be opening this, is Snow. And I wouldn't expect him to forget his own combination,"

"Can you break it?" He asked as she checked through her purse once more.

"We don't have a drill on us, so I'm going to have to,"

She used her tablet again, and he watched her change the settings to an x-ray setting.

"Keep quiet now," She muttered reaching for the lock.

He kept silent and still, watching where they had entered as to not distract her with his looking over her shoulder. Seconds went by in a tense silence, until he heard, "Damn..."

He was going to ask what was wrong, but figured it was because she failed the first attempt, or had turned to quickly in one direction and passed a number.

Another minute passed, and he turned when he heard the churning of gears, and the sliding of heavy steel bars of the lock.

The door opened on it's own, and they looked inside.

This room was much simpler, just a box with a shelf at the end, "Any motion sensors?" He asked from behind her.

Her eyes darted across the room, "No, it seems clear..."

They entered, and walked cautiously over to the single shelf.

On it, were a few folders, a cardboard box, and a safe.

Domino checked the file names, and took the one on the bottom, "This is it," She said.

He blinked, "That's it? Nothing else?"

She nodded, "That's right,"

He frowned but said nothing else, "Now let's go-"

They froze, the sound of a siren blaring overhead echoed loudly through the vault rooms.

"We didn't trigger anything!" Ash exclaimed looking around the room for what they must have hit.

Domino placed her hand on his shoulder and quieted him, "It's not us..." She muttered, eyes staring at the open vault door.

There must be some other reason. If they had triggered something, the entire vault system would be going into lock down.

Which it still might, "We're leaving," She started for the door, and passed through it quickly, Ash right behind her.

Ash waited for the first sign of some sort of security to appear within the vault, but as they reached the meter wide hallways, there were no such event.

Then why was the alarm wailing if not for them entering the vault?

They re-entered the closet, shutting the hidden door behind them, and hesitated opening the closets door.

Reaching into her purse, Domino hit the call for evac on the cell phone she had been given, and then opened the door.

Around them the hallways were dead, yet the alarm cried.

"Come on," She muttered grabbing his hand and starting back towards the ballroom. There was only two elevators in the entire building. Both of which were located where the party was taking place.

They entered the lobby, and Ash cast his eyes straight for the receptionist, except she wasn't there. Looking to the front doors, his eyebrows came together as he saw heavy chains binding them together.

"I think there is a robbery going on Dom," He said quickly as they entered another hallway.

She grunted, and they stopped outside one of the doors which opened into the back of the ballroom.

Ash glanced through the window built into the door, and stared inside.

Where before the room had been devoid of any room for moving around, he now saw the guests all lined up against the walls, as men carrying guns pointed them at each of guests.

"They must want to get into the vaults," Domino muttered absently, "we'll take the stairs, and-"

They ducked reflexivity as the ear drum shattering bang of an assault rifle rang off repeatedly on the inside.

Screams reached them, and Ash peaked once more through the window.

One of the men, a taller man with dyed blue hair, and a thin black beard-

Domino looked up to Ash, and saw a look of disbelief on his face, "Ash, let's go. Police will be arriving any second, they'll deal with this,"

Ash shook his head slowly, "That's... What the hell is he doing here..."

"What?"

"None of them are getting out of there alive," He whispered, "he never leaves witnesses..."

She stared at him with hesitance, "Well that's not our problem Ash, our job is done. Let's get to the roof,"

He swallowed, and she saw reluctance in his eyes, "Ash, this isn't our business. I will leave you behind if you don't hurry up. We don't have any weapons on us if they come for us."

He wasn't about to disobey her was he?

For... For whatever reason.

From what she could tell, Ash knew these people from some time in the past.

How? She didn't know. Nor care.

Their evac would be arriving momentarily, and if they didn't get a move on soon, there was a possibility that they would get caught up in this mess.

"These people will die Dom," He said quietly, "the police won't be able to do a damn thing."

"And what? You want to save them?"

She saw it, the small stiffening in his posture at her words, "It's impossible Ash, you're still to afraid to fight, and I have no weapons to deal with-"

"What's the difference between saving Pokemon and people?" He asked swiftly, "Shouldn't we value human life over Pokemon? So where is the difference in rescuing these people, over the the Pokemon I've rescued over the last year?"

She would have to speak with Giovanni about this when they returned to base. The liberating of Pokemon had given him a valid reason to want to help these people.

He had told her himself months ago that he felt like he was making up for the crimes he had committed by doing good for the Pokemon.

So in his eyes, doing this would be the same as rescuing Pokemon from abusive trainers.

"How do you expect this to work Ash? We can't save these people. Not when those guys are armed. Now let's go, or I will leave you behind."

Saying that, she moved away from the door, and towards the emergency staircase near the lobby.

Looking back, Ash hadn't moved, his eyes still looking through the glass.

She had to go, if he wouldn't follow her then-

Ash turned away from the door and started towards her. She could read the reluctance on his face, but he nodded for her to lead the way.

So together they ran through the hotel, keeping close to the wall should they run into a stray man with a weapon.

Reaching a staircase, Ash picked the door which had locked shut open, and they started their ascent. It was a tiring climb, but they breached through the roofs door, and out into the cool night air.

They looked to their side at the heavy sounding propellers of the helicopter which flew towards the roof.

It came to a hover along the edge of the roof, and together they boarded, sliding the side door shut and taking a seat along the side.

Domino shook out her hair, which had gotten blown messily by the wind created by the helicopter, and put on the seat belt.

When it clicked into place, she set the file onto her lap and looked at Ash, whose gaze was looking firmly out the window.

Down below, red and blue lights flashed as police cars drove towards the hotel. The helicopter gained altitude, and took off into the night sky.

She stared at him, and said quietly, "There is nothing we could have done about it, leave it to the professionals,"

Ash didn't reply, just continuing to look out into the late night sky.

* * *

**Writing all of Ashs training would be tiresome, so I did a time jump to move the story forward.**

**And since it's a time jump, where Ash and Domino had only known each other for a month and a half in previous chapters. As the title of this chapter suggests a year has gone by, meaning interactions between Ash and Domino have changed greatly.**

**So realistically they'll be closer, understand each other better.**

**This will be shown in further chapters.**

**Thanks everyone for reading, please tell me what you all thought in a review!**

**I'll see you all next time!**


	17. Zaffre

**Chapter Seventeen**

Zaffre

* * *

"He has a sense of justice," Domino said, "he compared the rescuing of the Pokemon, to the extent of rescuing those inside the hotel,"

Giovanni leaned back in his chair and looked skyward, "I see," He said, his low voice sounding thoughtful, "the boy truly believes that what he is doing for us is for the greater good. It seems that it has become mandatory to keep the truth about the Pokemon abductions a secret,"

"I agree completely sir,"

"How well did he act during the assignment, is he field ready? Or would you like more time?"

In her eyes he was ready.

In the eyes of a double-o, he was not.

"I'd like more time sir," She said softly, "I have to break that sense of justice. It's because of that that he hesitated, because of the deeds he has done while on the street, he wants to do all of the good he can to make up for it."

She paused cautiously, "Even if it puts the mission in jeopardy."

"Very well Domino, He said, "You've done a good job so far, I trust you to have him ready for when he's needed."

"Excuse me sir," She asked hesitantly, "may I ask about the item we retrieved?"

"You may,"

"What exactly is it?"

Giovanni sat forward in his chair, "What you and Ketchum recovered is the documentations of a genetically modified Pokemon. The only reason I tell you this Domino, is because once he is field ready, your primary objective is to locate, and secure this Pokemon."

"May I ask what is so special about this Pokemon?"

Giovanni nodded once more, "This Pokemon, with it's genetic enhancements, is one of the few creatures who will be able to battle head on against Mewtwo,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"The Garden Central massacre has resulted in one hundred and thirteen confirmed deaths, and three have been left in critical conditions,"

Ash lay on his bed, facing the wall as he listened to the radio, "From surveillance footage, it is shown that the leader of the organization who led the robbery is the notorious drug runner who goes by the nickname of Zaffre. According to survivors of the attack, hotel chain owner Marten Snow refused to hand over the key of the hidden safe within the hotels walls, which led to Zaffre and his men opening fire."

_'They'd be dead either way,' _Ash thought turning the small metal key between his fingers.

"Police from Celadon, and surrounding cities have started a sweep of the city in search of the perpetrator, who by the President of Kanto claims to have enacted an act of Terror against the Region,"

"You won't find him," Ash whispered, "you won't ever find him..."

"This is not the first time Zaffre has committed a crime on par with this," The woman on the radio continued on, "the drug runner has been convicted of multiple murders across the region, drug trafficking, and escaping from prison,"

Ash heard his door open but ignored it, "This is the first time in one hundred years for such a large scale attack on the public, and from the president himself, he claims that upon capture, Zaffre will not be tried, but sentenced the death penalty for his crimes without plea."

He heard the radio switch off right after, "Why are you listening to this?" Domino asked coming over to him.

"One hundred and thirteen people Dom," He said quietly, "three in critical condition who most likely will not live. And if by some chance they do, they'll need witness protection. Because Zaffre will hunt them, and then he'll kill them so there is no one to prove witness,"

"Why are you thinking so much on this Ash?" She asked sitting down on the edge of his bed, "it's not like you to brood over something like this?"

He didn't reply, and she placed a hand onto his shoulder, "Ash, for what reason?"

"Because I know him Dom," He whispered, "Because that son of a bitch almost killed me,"

Her hand tightened on his arm, and she stared at him in shock, "W-What?"

He didn't turn to look at her, just kept staring at the small key he held between his fingers, "Zaffre doesn't leave witnesses," He said, "but I was the one that got away,"

"What... How did..." Ash kept his time on the streets for the most part bottled up, choosing to keep it to himself then tell her about it.

It wasn't her business, but she knew most of what took place on the streets for him through reports anyways.

But this hadn't been a part of it.

"It doesn't matter, I got away, and that's all I care about. But I know for a fact he won't be caught. His influence is to big. He has men everywhere, hell I wouldn't be surprised if someone within Team Rocket worked for him... Should he by some miracle get taken into custody, he'll just escape again right away..."

"So why do you still listen to this if you know what'll happen in the future? You're just forcing yourself to relive a traumatic event by listening to the news. I know you can't just forget it Ash, but you should allow yourself the freedom to move passed it,"

"Have you slept recently?" He asked inadvertently ignoring her words.

"Ash-"

"Have you?"

"Yes, I have," She said dryly, "but about-"

"It's a little early, but do you want to grab dinner,"

"You're just ignoring the subject now aren't you,"

He rolled over and faced her, "You know me so well Dom," He grinned.

She sighed and stood up, "If you want to talk about it Ash, you know you can come to me anytime," This was something she wouldn't have said a year ago.

He stood up stretching, "It's just something from my past I haven't fully accepted yet Dom, when I'm ready to talk to someone about it, you'll be the first I come to,"

"Who else is there for you to talk to about it?" She asked rolling her eyes.

He grinned, "Well Zo of course," He said as if it was obvious, "however her attention span is fairly limited,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

They ate together in the cafeteria, quietly chatting with one another, "So, I have some news for you," Domino said stirring her coffee, "Would you like to hear it?"

"Is it good or bad?"

She shrugged, "Depending on how you look at it, good I suppose," He gestured for her to continue, "we've been given a weeks vacation,"

He paused, about to put his sandwich into his mouth, and looked at her confused, "Huh?"

"I had the same reaction," She said taking a sip of her drink, "but Giovanni has been pleased with how things have been progressing so he's decided to give us a short break. You haven't had one since being recruited after all,"

_'And I've never bothered taking one,'_

"I... I see..." He said hesitantly, "and what exactly are we supposed to... Do?"

The entire concept sounded foreign to him.

A vacation? Like a beach or something?

It was almost spring.

But still.

She shrugged watching him intently, "You could go on a trip, stay here and relax, or... Well anything really,"

"Well... What are you planning on doing?" He asked curiously, "do you have any idea?"

_'Well I was planning on joining you on whatever you chose to do,' _She thought picking at her dinner, "I haven't decided yet, but going on a short trip sounded nice..."

He hummed to himself, and she waited for some sort of response, "Interesting..." He muttered and her eyes narrowed on him.

He had had a thought.

One of those thoughts that meant he had an idea.

Something that was either good or bad.

It was usually 50/50.

"What?"

He made an off handed sound, "Nothing," He said reaching for his water, "just... An idea,"

"I figured that much, now what is it?"

He shrugged, "Something, I'll tell you when the time's right,"

She wasn't sure what he had in mind. It sounded like one of his idiotic ideas like gambling on Pokemon battles, but...

There was something wrong with his uncaring attitude.

"When do we get the break?" He asked.

"It starts Friday," She said, "until then we keep our regular routine, and then you're officially off duty for a week,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Following dinner, Ash joined Domino in her room as she worked through paperwork, and he on homework which had been piling up as of late.

When it was late enough, Ash said goodnight and headed back for his room.

Closing his door behind him, he turned on the radio once more and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"It is believed that a getaway vehicle was stationed three blocks from the Garden Central Hotel, and that the believed suspect, Zaffre escaped the city in a dark blue stolen Volkswagen."

Friday was three days away.

By then Zaffre would have put considerable distance between himself and Celadon.

And frankly.

Ash knew exactly where he would be heading.

* * *

**Double update!**

**Drop in a review if you don't mind and tell me what you all thought!**


	18. Excitement

**Chapter Eighteen**

Excitement

* * *

She awoke much earlier then usual, finding herself strangely excited to get the day started.

Domino rose from her bed with a stretch and a yawn, before standing and getting her clothes for the day.

Before she left her room, her eyes fell on the backpack which lay against the foot of her bed.

Smiling to herself, she left her room and hit the showers.

It was Friday, and the start of her first vacation.

She was excited because she was going to be going on a road trip with Ash.

They would be leaving the base just after dinner, and then would be driving across Kanto visiting as many towns and landmarks as they could within the week.

She had never done something like this, going somewhere for her own leisure.

And to do it with Ash, made her even more anxious to hit the road.

She changed into her civilian clothing, something which she hadn't worn in some time.

She had never been one for casual dress's, but since they would be in a car with a retractable roof, she decided on a simple pale blue sundress.

She found herself hesitating when staring at herself in the mirror, unsure if to change her hairstyle or if she should try something new.

Then again, when did she start caring about hairstyles?

Shaking her head, she curled her hair like always, and instead of her pink and white hat, she held her white braided sun hat in her hands.

Her cheeks slowly reddened as she placed the hat atop her head.

Compared to the dark clothing she wore daily, she looked...

She looked just like a regular person.

She looked...

Cute?

"I... I can't believe I'm wearing this," She muttered rubbing her arm nervously.

Was... Was she...

Feeling self-conscious?

She had been in the middle of gun fights in the past and hadn't felt a sliver of nervousness.

But here she stood, looking at herself in the mirror, and felt like her stomach was in knots.

She'd have to walk through the base like this for the rest of the day until she and Ash left. Unless she were to go wake him up that minute and suggest they leave sooner then they originally planned to.

That way... That way she could have his reaction to her appearance...

She hated him she realized.

It was his fault for making her feel so... So... Ill at ease...

But then again, she realized that was because she l... L...

She shook her head, _'Nope. I won't say it.'_ She thought turning around and starting for the bathroom door.

She refused to say it. Because if she did, there was the very possibility that there would be truth behind her words.

She left the bathroom, and mentally said a prayer thanking that she had woken earlier then usual. Most of the other Rockets in the building were either asleep, or would be going towards the cafeteria on the other side of the building.

Making it less likely that she'd have to deal with their looks.

Because frankly, in her sundress, she didn't look the least bit threatening.

Domino made a beeline towards the male dorms, entering quietly and moving with swift footfalls towards Ashs room.

She stopped outside it, thought of knocking and tossed the thought aside, and opened his door quietly.

The light was off, and she squinted into the darkness in the direction of his bed. With the light given from the hallway, she frowned and flicked his light on.

Her eyes regarded the bed in confusion.

It was empty.

And looked untouched from that night.

Which either meant Ash had already risen for the day and made his bed, or he had fallen asleep in one of the class rooms doing his homework.

She put her bets on the latter and shut his light off.

Turning to leave the room, she stopped when she realized that the bag he had packed for their trip was not in the room.

Had he had the same idea as her?

She closed the door behind her, and decided he was likely in the showers or working out.

Even on his break, she knew he would like to continue with his daily exercise. So she did the logical thing and started for the weight room to see if he was still there. And if he was not, she'd go to the cafeteria to see if he was there.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

As it turned out, he had not been to either of those places, so Domino went to the next place which seemed possible.

Even though this was supposed to be the start of his vacation, she had told his teachers to assign him with his current lessons so he would not fall behind.

Just like any other school out there.

He still had a fair amount of difficulty reading, and his English and math work was slowly improving, so she didn't want him to forget what he had learned during the last week.

She entered the room where he was taught English, and saw Carrie, his red haired teacher sitting at her desk.

She looked up from what she was working on and to Domino, "Hello double-o -oh wow..." Her eyes widened in surprise, "That's... A cute outfit,"

Domino cleared her throat, feeling flustered, "Yes.. Please disregard this... H-Have you seen Ash at all? He's up, but I haven't been able to locate him,"

Apparently she had, "I haven't seen him this morning, but last night he surprised me with the work he finished,"

Dominos eyebrows came together, "How so?"

Carrie held up a centimeter thick stack of paper, "A weeks worth of material finished in two days," She said impressed, "he came in last night saying he finished the work I had given him to do during his break. And according Anne, he had done the same with his math,"

He... He did it all ahead of time...

"Did... Did he tell you why?"

She shook her head, "All he said was that he figured he wouldn't have any time to do it during the trip, so he finished it as soon as he got it,"

Then was he looking forward to the trip as much as she was?

"Oh... Well, should he stop by, tell him I'm looking for him,"

Carrie nodded, "Of course,"

Domino gave her a nod and left the classroom, going to the math room next to poke her head inside to see if Ash was there.

And once again, he was not.

It was barely 8AM, and she had already gotten to her wit's end as to where her trainee had run off to.

Running down her options, she figured he may try the training fields, or he might even go and pay Susan a visit... But other then that, there weren't many places he liked to visit within the building.

She checked the fields, and they were empty.

She then went to the infirmary, and got a response from Susan similar to that of Carries.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"He came by last night," Susan said looking away from the cupboard of assorted medicine bottles, "and asked me for a few things,"

"Like?"

"He said he wasn't feeling all to well, so I gave him a small bottle of Tylenol, and a pack of gum. With that he seemed happy and told me he'd come say hi once you two came back from your break,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

She was at a loss.

So she returned to her room, grabbed her backpack and decided to drop it off in the garage to save her the trip later.

She'd find him soon enough, the building only had so many places to hide after all.

The garage was cold, and stationed in the underground parking where a variety of cars were parked.

Most shaded metallic black, or a dark gray.

Team Rocket wasn't very big on bright, vibrant colors.

She went over to the booth, and opened the door where a Rocket dressed like all the others sat at a desk looking bored on the computer in front of him.

"I'd like to know where the car I reserved for myself is," She said plainly, and the man jumped in his seat.

He looked back and saw her, "O-Oh of course 009!" He exclaimed swiveling in his chair to grab a hand full of documents.

He thumbed through them, and pulled a single sheet out, "You reserved the... Aston Martin DBS?" He asked curiously.

She nodded, and a confused look came over his face, "Well..." He cleared his throat, "Well it's supposed to be in space F-3," He said slowly, "but..."

Her eyes narrowed on him, "But what?"

"Well... It's already been taken,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Domino ran through the hallways of the base, blue sundress fluttering with each step.

What had he done?

No.

What was he doing!?

She didn't understand.

Was he running away?

Did he learn the truth about what happened to his parents, or about the Pokemon he captured?

She sprinted up the staircase, and burst through a door and down a hall.

He had taken his belongings with him.

He hadn't said a single word to her since they parted last night to go to bed...

Well she had gone to bed, he had gone and handed in his work to his teachers...

He would have told her if he had something to do before hand, left her a note or something.

She pushed open the door to security, startling everyone in the room and went over to the security camera live feed.

The room had silenced, and those in the room were all staring directly at her as she searched the recordings of the previous night.

She watched the feed, starting from when they had separated in the hall to go to their respective rooms, and watched as he did indeed return.

Only to reappear in the hall moments later with his backpack slung over one shoulder, and two folders held in his hand.

He dropped them off at each of the classrooms one after another, and then went to see Susan.

He did not return to his room.

She watched as he stopped outside of an armory, entered the room, and then a few minutes later leave without taking anything.

Or that's what it looked like to her anyways.

He then went towards the garage, however he stopped outside of the door to the side and stared at his wrist.

From the time which ran on the corner of the screen, he finally moved right when it struck midnight.

She switched to the feed inside of the garage and watched him go over to the booth, get the keys, and then go to the they had reserved.

When he got into the drivers seat, she couldn't believe her eyes when he started the car, and drove out of the parking lot.

She had never taught him to drive.

But from the speed he drove out of the garage, a steady five miles per hour, she could see jerky movements of the vehicle until it scaled the ramp, and out of the cameras angle.

She ran a hand through her hair, knocking her hat to the floor, and leaned back into her chair.

What the hell was he doing?

* * *

**Thanks all for reading! These have been really easy to write as of late, so I hope you enjoy!  
**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you all thought!  
**


	19. The Hunters

**Nineteen**

The Hunters

* * *

He had kept his old clothing on a whim, or maybe because he thought it would a shame to go and discard the clothes which he had worn on his back for a healthy -or unhealthy, realistically- portion of his life.

Ash sat with his back against the rough wood of a box car, staring out into grim darkness of the rail yard.

Dressed in his torn trench coat, which was as stained and torn as it had been a year ago, his roughed up pair of jeans, and forever smelling old sneakers.

He added a black hoodie underneath, which he had kept the hood up as soon as he had gone and bought it.

He had driven as far as he dared to push his luck.

The sports car he had left a mile down the road from the train yard, was backed into a fairly thick area of trees.

And with what he currently had planned, he would be returning to it with a passenger alongside him.

He still could not believe he had gone and lied to Domino about this.

He hadn't asked to go on a road trip with her for the vacation.

What he needed was a ride.

And she was the only one who would be able to authorize that, because if she knew his intent, well there is no way in hell he'd be allowed off of the bases grounds.

He was going to capture Zaffre, and turn the son of a bitch in.

And he only had one week to go and do it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

To obtain Zaffre, Ash had prepared himself as best as he had possibly could within four days.

Domino never commented on it, or she didn't realize it.

But he had not shaved since the night of the robbery.

And for the two and a half days it would take to reach the compound, he figured it would look rough at best.

Because the only way to get in and out, would be by relying on the skills he had picked up on during the last year, and his previous experience as an addict.

He had to look the part, which was easy enough to go about doing.

And then smell the part. After this train made its stop in the lumberyard outside of Gringey City, he was going to make a stop at a liquor store and by the strongest stuff they had.

He wasn't going to drink it unfortunately, but use it as perfume and mouthwash. If he smelt like flowers and daisies in the shit hole he'd be going to then the jig was up.

Basically, if you didn't look like a pot head, act like one, or smell like one, there was a fairly good chance you'd be killed on the spot.

The very first thing he realized when the idea sprung in his mind when he learned of the vacation, was that to even attempt this unarmed would be suicide.

He wasn't packing an AR or an LMG, because walking into a building like that would be a death sentence.

He simply had a police standard side arm, and because of his lack of fighting abilities, a stun gun which he would be relying on far more then the handgun.

He was taking Zaffre alive, out of his compound in Gringey City to the Southeast of Celadon, and to the nearest police station to hand him over.

Of course.

This was all on information he knew from the past.

And after being out of the inner circles for a year -he bet all of his dealers had probably considered him dead- he had no idea if Zaffre still returned to Gringey after...

His jobs...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Detective Miller, a tall brunette with her hair back in a bun, twirled her pen between her fingers.

She had been the primary detective of the Celadon City Police Department for the last thirteen years, and not once had she dealt with a case on this magnitude.

Outside of her office, FBI agents and members of the Armed Forces were all moving about like a school of fish as they continued their hunt for the perpetuator of the hotel massacre four nights ago.

The city of Celadon, had been lively on Valentines Day a few nights ago. Filled with love, happiness, and all of the emotions and feelings that were associated with the day.

But within hours the city had been brought into lock down.

Not a single person roamed the streets, most were locked up in their homes afraid to go outside.

And until the son of a bitch who caused this mayhem, it would remain this way.

She reached out for her coffee, and took a long drink, finding that it had gone cold.

She didn't really care, she was currently running on two hours of sleep for the last two days, and was taking any energy she could muster.

There was a knock on her door, and she glanced up as one of the FBI agents, Blake, came in and gave her a nod, "The cities been swept," He said, "We've got the Northwest corner left to search, but otherwise Zaffre has managed to slip past us, or he's hold up in that district,"

Miller rubbed her temples, "For all we know, he's left the city and moved on,"

"In which case we've lost him," Blake said quietly, "we still haven't been able to confirm whether or not the helicopter which appeared above the hotel had escorted him out of the building. Our leads or thinning, soon we'll have to begin searching the surrounding towns and forests,"

"Are there any leads right now we can follow up on?"

Blake shook his head.

_'Dammit,'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The destination Ash currently headed for, was Gringey City.

An abandoned, industrial city where the air was thick and grimy with pollution, buildings all run down and on the verge of collapsing.

No sane person live there, which is exactly why Zaffre chose it for his base of operations- well one of them anyways.

Those who did inhabit the city were all apart of something.

Whether a gang, trafficking ring, or dealers.

They were all there.

Because of this, this area of Kanto had an absolute of zero police and government influence.

It was run by those who had the most men.

The most fire power.

Or the guys who would give you crack for doing odd jobs.

Ash knew this all from experience.

Although that experience came from when he was ten years old, when he had just begun learning the trade of dealing.

It was also when Zaffre tried to kill him, or to be more specific kidnap, and then kill.

Because nothing says profit like some ten year old boy with no family, no one looking for him.

Zaffre had planned on selling him, to who? Or what?

He didn't know, and when ever he remembered the experience he shuddered.

But because of that experience, he knew where Zaffre would be located after the massacre in Celadon.

He was relying on memories from an event which took place nine years ago, and he realized that this could have changed at any moment during that time.

But he knew how the system worked.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The train ride to Gringey City was ridden in silence, and Ash found himself constantly wondering what Domino was doing back at the base.

Was she upset that he bailed on her without a single word? He figured she would be.

Or did she wave off his disappearance with a wave of her hand, saying whatever he was doing was his business?

Did she alert Giovanni?

Had he been fired?

Was he going to be punished?

But this was his vacation time right? He could very well do as he pleased!

_'I think...'_ He thought momentarily as he felt the freight beneath his begin it's deceleration, and the ear splitting screech as the breaks locked, and the wheels grinding against the track.

When the locomotive finally came to it's stop, Ash pulled back the heavy wooden door, and looked out into the day light, which was darkening with storm clouds that screamed early spring showers.

He slid to the ground, and looked across the lumberyard he had arrived at.

He'd been in these parts many times in his life.

He ventured between the railroad and stacks of lumber, all of which was tree trunks which were going to be cut down into planks in the saw mill to the East.

He moved in a low crouch, passing into the lumber mill, where workers tallied of numbers of planks, sat around smoking, and started up wood saws.

It wasn't uncommon to see someone like him running through the mill, as this was the primary stop for most who were traveling to Gringey City.

It was wise on the workers part to not speak with those who passed through, should who ever does pass through get violent.

Which happens far more then one would believe.

It was a six hour walk once he left the boundaries of the lumberyard and saw mill. Nothing but the gloomy darkness of the forest which spread farther then the eye could see, and the rustling of tree leaves overhead from the bird Pokemon nested in the tree tops.

It felt odd to be trekking through the dirt and muck once again, after being in solid care for a year, to be what felt like being warped back into the past.

He was going to be reliving less favorable moments of his past fairly soon, more so then he would like to admit.

If he could, he was keeping gun play out of the equation. He had been accused of murder in the past, the very reason he was doing what he was doing that moment.

But it was a lie.

And he would keep it so, he wouldn't- no couldn't take someones life.

But should worse come to worst, and its between his life and Zaffres, Ash knew he would pull the trigger.

He would take his life without a second thought, and then deal with the repercussions of his morals afterwards.

Because, when he officially decided to go ahead and do this.

He promised himself he would return to Team Rocket alive.

Or more importantly, to Domino.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"We've located the car Ketchum has taken,"

Domino's shoulders sagged in relief, "Where? Is there any sign of him?" She asked tiredly.

It had been two days since Ash had vanished from the base, and she had found herself about to lose her sanity with the insecurity of not knowing whether Ash had run away, or if he had gone off on his own for a specific reason.

Giovanni's features remained unchanged from his usual stoicness, "He hid the vehicle three miles out of Viridian, quite a few of his belongings were left behind,"

"Like what?"

She saw that her Boss himself was slightly puzzled, and her eyebrow rose, "His clothing, all left in the backseat... At least a weeks worth. His toothbrush, and the like... He left it all behind, something strange for someone who's going on a weeks break,"

"You really believe he's just... Doing something on his own? Giovanni Sir, if he was doing that... I swear he would have told me, this isn't like him."

He was nodding as he listened to her words, "In any case," He said, "I believe you would like to go after him?"

"Yes sir, he's my responsibility, and if something were to happen to him while he was on his own... It would be my own fault for not being more aware,"

Giovanni conceded the point with a tilt of his head, "That may be the case, however Domino, I am forbidding you from going after him,"

...What? She stared at him in disbelief, "B-But sir-"

"I'd like to see just what he is up to," Giovanni said coolly, pitch black eyes regarding her with animosity, "he obviously has reason for his sudden departure, and I'd like to see the outcome of it."

He wanted to watch? He wanted to see if Ash could handle whatever he was planning on his own? Even if it meant... Meant...

Meant what? She was still clueless as to what he was doing!

She fought back a sigh of frustration, "I understand sir..."

"Very good Domino, I'll be in contact if anything you should be notified of comes through,"

She bowed her head, "Thank you sir, Domino out," reaching forwards, she hit the end call button, and her screen darkened to black.

When she was sure it was entirely dead, she spun around in her chair, stood up aggressively, and stormed out of her room.

She once again wore her uniform, finding that her plans had been ruined for her vacation, and found herself entering the male dorms a minute later.

She moved towards Ashs room, tore open the door and glared around the room.

His bed was occupied by Zo, who glanced up at her when she entered, but other wise the room was the exact same as always.

She went over to his desk, shifting through the papers which were spread atop it. There was math and English homework he had crumpled and put to the side. A calender, where that week had been highlighted in blue, with 'vacation' written across it.

She slid open the single drawer in the desk, where she only saw his writing utensils and a few notebooks.

She took the top, skimmed through the many completed math problems and set it back inside, closing the drawer.

She moved onto his dresser next, checking each drawer carefully.

From top to bottom, all three drawers had their contents neatly placed exactly where they were supposed to be.

Shirts, pants, socks, underwear.

All there, all untouched.

She looked around the room, feeling anger boiling within her stomach.

This was his fault, his damn fault for putting her through this.

The pure unadulterated frustration and anger he was putting her through had brought her to her limit.

When she saw him again, she was going to go off on him.

She wouldn't be able to help-

Zo was looking at her, a mischievous grin on the little foxes face, "What?" she asked skeptically.

Zo rolled once, so that her bushy tail hung off the bed, swinging slowly.

Domino stared at her, and then to where her tail was pointing.

The bed.

Or more precisely, under the bed.

Going over, Domino knelt down, and drew back the blanket which hung from the bed, and onto the floor.

What was she supposed to be looking for?

There was nothing there.

She glanced up to Zo, who was watching her with curiosity, and a look which clearly asked if she understood.

She didn't.

"Give me some help Zo," She muttered petting the small fox gently, "I'm losing my mind over this,"

The illusion Pokemon must have heard the small sense of loneliness in her voice, and leapt off of the bed.

Domino watched as Zo landed on the floor, turned to face her, and then leapt into the air, a dark misty sphere enveloping her.

The sphere morphed, into a shadowy human silhouette, and then into the very person she was looking for.

She stared at Ash -Zo technically- who stood in front of her, in his old ragged clothing.

Ash -Zo- took each flap of the trench coat he/she wore, and tugged twice on it, before pointing to the bed once more.

Checking beneath once more, she still saw nothing-

Oh wait.

Slowly looking back to Zo/Ash, she stared at the trench coat, ragged jeans, and shoes.

Everything was in place, except for those few items, which she knew for a fact, he kept underneath his bed.

"He left with those?" She asked quietly, "Zo did he tell you anything? Or say anything about what he has planned?"

A frown formed on Ashs face, and Zo seemed to be thinking over her words.

And then she nodded as the dark misty glow surrounded her once more.

Domino watched as the transformation took place, and then when she saw the new person who stood before her, she felt her breath escape her.

"Oh God he wouldn't..."

The man, with thin cropped black hair, and a bright blue scruffy beard stared at her with his left eye blue, and the right, hollow, showing the inner lining of his eye-socket.

The man she had seen from the hotel stood before her, which could only mean one thing.

Ash had gone out hunting.

* * *

**This was originally 8K words, but I was like nope! To much for a single read through.**

**So I'll throw up next chapter in a couple hours after some final edits, but until then! **

**Please drop in a review and let me know what you all thought! **

**Like, hate, love anything!? Let me know!**

**Thanks all for reading!**


	20. The Amber Eyed Girl

**Twenty**

The Amber Eyed Girl

* * *

In a way, he supposed he was hunting Zaffre.

It was a strange way to put it, but as he stood atop the roof of a rundown apartment, binoculars focused six blocks down at a four way intersection, he couldn't have described it any better.

Zaffre was his prey, and he was the predator.

_'The roles have been reversed since our last meeting,' _He thought as he counted off those who patrolled around an old electronics shop, where the windows had been busted and replaced by plywood, and the front door once all glass replaced with heavy iron bars and a grate.

He'd been in that build twice before, once for a delivery for his first time.

If he remembered clearly, which wasn't very clear, he believed he had been asked to drop off a box of sixty needles.

They gave him a small amount to see if he could pull off the job, because the runners at the time were on short notice for a client and had required a supplement for the time being.

So he made the deal, got the money, and returned back to Richard, his primary boss at the time, for his cut.

Which at the time, since he was still learning what was what; was twenty dollars, a pre-rolled joint, and a sandwich.

Being ten, he had no idea he was being scammed for the work he was doing.

The second time he had been inside...

Well he had met Zaffre.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Beneath the old electronics building was a labyrinth of tunnels- he supposed it would be proper to call them sewers given that's what they were.

The sewers had become the stronghold, while the buildings above ground were strictly for shooting or lighten up.

Underground is where the transactions took place, and of course the executions...

He knew his way into the building, a manhole two blocks from the electronics shop, which would allow him entrance into the sewers, and then the actual stronghold.

His exit, would be an open drain pipe which goes in a wide circle around Gringey, and ends at the forests edge in the direction of the lumberyard once more.

It was an easy route.

Get in.

Zap Zaffre with the stun gun.

And then drag his ass out of there.

Easy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He pat himself down, feeling the ballistics vest beneath his hoodie, the side arm which was holstered beneath his armpit, and the stun gun which was attached to his waist.

Taking the bottle of vodka he had purchased during the night of the first stop on the way to Gringey, Ash took a mouthful, and swished the burning drink around in his mouth.

Spitting it off to the side, he place some in his hand, and rubbed it on his neck and chin as if he was applying aftershave.

He then drained the alcohol on the concrete next to the man hole, and stuck the glass bottle into his coat side pocket.

With his tongue burning with the sensation of the vodka, Ash took hold of the manhole cover, lifted, and slowly eased it off to the side.

Grimacing at the underlining stench of the sewers, Ash backed himself in, and than pulled the cover back into place.

He scaled down the ladder, feeling the grimy texture on the old rusted hand grips, and down to the stone floor.

It was your basic sewer system, however walkways of wooden planks crossed over the murky liquid which ran down the central area of the sewers.

He knew the general direction, so he started off. Keeping a quick pace as he moved around corners, and across the plank bridges which groaned nerve rackingly under his weight.

The last thing he wanted was for one of them to snap beneath him.

For two reasons.

It could alert those in the stronghold.

And just straight out because he'd have to bleach his skin if he fell into the horrible mucky liquid to cleanse himself.

And glancing down, into the thick brown green waters, he figured should that happen.

He may have to just go and do that.

The sewer system was filled with 4-way intersections and T-junctions. And soon Ash found himself getting lost in the maze.

But soon realized, that as he drew near, the foul stench began dimming around him, and slowly replaced with the rank smell of marijuana and cigarettes.

And finally, after half an hour of searching, he found his entrance.

The stronghold, or compound, which ever you prefer, was much like the sewers he'd been traveling in. However where the river of whatever horrid filth ran down the middle, cut off and had been replaced with concrete. Making smooth floored corridors in all directions.

He knew from experience, that he would want to go left towards where he believed the main grounds were located.

So he moved down the halls, with hunched shoulders, and a purposely unsteady walk.

If he looked like he had a purpose, and had not drunkenly bumbled his way down there by accident, less suspicion would be directed his way.

He knew that this happened quite often. And that in some areas, he'd find unconscious, or possible a few people who had overdosed in rooms to the side.

If required, he'd just drop down and have a seat with them should attention be sent his way.

They'd be to far gone and just believe he was some sort of vision, or something along the likes.

As he moved on, his eyes caught the markings etched into the stone walls.

Of stars, crosses, triangles, and a variety of other symbols.

These were his directions.

Should the place be raided by swat or police, the symbols kept them guessing in what they actually meant.

Which was in this case, directions. Or signs, that pointed the way towards specific room locations.

The symbols were only known by those who had lived on the streets for a long time like himself, or by those who had created the system.

And with what he read on the wall, the room he was more or less looking for was an office.

Zaffre's office.

And to reach that, he would have to pass through the cages, which was marked ( III) on the walls, the living halls ( [] ), and then around there he would find Zaffre's personal room.

He followed the symbols, and soon found himself entering a greened area, where the walls became mossy, and the floors slick with slime.

This is where he had been held; the cages.

He turned a corner, and into not another hall, but a section of the sewer where the walls had been expanded in width, and cages for animals had been built into the expanded area.

He had escaped from here once himself, barely, but he had managed it.

The cages were dripping with liquid, and the bars were all rusted.

His feet squished with each step, and his eyes searched the cages, hard to do in the light given to him.

There was an unconscious, or dead most likely, man in one. His head lolled back, eyes shut, and mouth wide open as if catching raindrops...

In a way, he sort of was.

Liquid dripped from the top of the cage, and into that wide open mouth.

Ash grimaced, feeling his stomach churning uneasily in his gut.

He walked on, eyes moving from cage to cage in the dim light of the holding cells.

When he was about to leave the area entirely, he stopped as something caught the corner of his eye.

Looking to his right, at a cage covered top to bottom in moss, he went over and knelt next to it.

A small girl.

No more then five years old sat with her knees drawn up to her chest in the furthest back corner.

He had hardly noticed her, with her black hair, long and unruly, draping down in front of her eyes. She was still, silent...

Was she dead?

He looked closer, and saw the slow rise and fall of her chest.

She was asleep?

And he wasn't going to wake her, she could cry or scream. And soon after that, the entire god damn place would be on him faster then he could snap his fingers.

He stood back up, looking once back at the girl, and then started around the corner.

That girl was one of two things.

She was either locked up because of forced, or bonded labor... Where her parents had fucked up in someway and used her to pay their debt, or she was kept as down payment until they could make up the cash to pay their debts.

Or she was being trafficked.

Sold to the highest bidder, for whatever purposes they desire...

He scowled, and continued reading the symbols which were engraved for him on the walls.

The [] symbol became more and more prominent, and soon Ash remembered what it was he was about to be getting into.

Music, loud heavy metal began reaching his ears. The shrill screaming of the lead singer, the ear piercing notes of the guitar all echoed through the tunnels.

He followed the noise, using the engravings every so often to help him find his way.

And then, the thick stench of drugs blasted his senses.

On instinct, he relaxed his body.

Allowing his arms to swing loosely, and his face to lose any tension.

He entered a room, where all across the floor mattresses were laid about, and blankets of scratchy material were all occupied in every corners of the room.

All of these people, were cracked out of their minds.

He saw the way he needed to go, a door leading into the private quarters of Zaffre. But before he made any suicidal attempts, which would be made if he laid a single finger on that door.

He sauntered over to a mattress and collapsed down alongside three men, who lay on their backs, and their heads propped up against the wall.

Two were naked form the waist up, the third and furthest from where he had sat down, was buck-ass naked.

Domino would kill him.

Hell, he himself couldn't believe he was about to do this.

But he grinned at the old man next to him, who had the lit joint between his lips, and nudged him slightly.

The message was all to clear, and it was passed over to him without a second thought.

"Thanks buddy," Ash muttered taking it between two fingers and bringing it up to his lips.

He inhaled deeply, allowing the smoke to enter his lungs, and then breathed it out, a long thin line of white smoke coming from between his lips.

"Fuuuck..." He groaned leaning back, passing it back to the original owner.

It had been to long, and he swore as soon as he finished this job he'd be done forever.

But after a year, he was tempted to just kick it down here like he had done elsewhere in the past, and just lose himself in it.

But he kept his mind, knowing the importance of why he was there.

"Hey... Hey buddy?" He asked to the side, "did... Did," Ash allowed a chuckle to escape him, "did blue beard show up yet?"

His voice was hard to hear above the blaring radio, but the old man with teeth yellower then over-saturated piss nodded, "E's been back since yesterday," He said taking a long inhale, "fucking some ol gal he picked up along the way right now... I think,"

Ash stared at the door at the other end of the room, "What's through that door friend?" he asked nodding in that direction.

"Zaffres room boy, what else?" He then looked slightly interested, although that seemed to be gone as soon as it came, "Ya got business with the man?"

Ash grunted, "Something like that," Giving him a nod, he stood up, and swayed on his feet, "I'm going to see if the ol' chap is busy,"

The old man waved as if he had already forgotten him, and shut his eyes, either drifting to sleep, or into some sort of daze.

Probably a mixture of both Ash figured.

It would take a lot more then a single puff to get himself high, but even still, a single go could have its effects, so he needed to hurry.

Ash started for the door, but stopped dead in his tracks and made a quick dive for a nearby mattress as the door cracked open.

Sitting next to a woman, who was looking at him as if he were some sort of hallucination, he closed his eyes, and leaned back as men left Zaffres quarters.

Through a slitted eyelid, Ash watched as three men, all armed with-

_'Damn,'_ AK-47's, came out of the room with the man he was hunting behind them.

Zaffre, thin cropped black hair, with the showings of gray peppering the tips. A blue beard the shade of zaffre, hence his nickname, and an eye patch covering his right eye from where he lost it in one of his many trips to prison.

Nobody truly knew the story of how he had lost his eye, well except for Zaffre himself of course. But some say that the man did it to himself, reaching into his eye-socket with his fingers, and then ripping his eye from from his skull to seek medical attention.

And then while he was being treated, he incapacitated, or killed those who worked on him, and then made a successful breakout from the jail, bleeding from his eye and all.

He was dressed fairly well, black khakis, and a dress shirt with the two top buttons open. Two thin gold chains were around his neck, and his black fancy shoes were polished to the toe.

He was your basic pimp.

Zaffre looked around the room, and then to the three who stood armed before him, "I... Have a craving," He said in a high whining voice, which drew out his words like a note on a trumpet, "I'd like you-" He pointed to the armed man on the left, "to go and get word from upstairs about the pathway into Johto," Turning to the man on the right, "and I'd like you, to go ready my chambers."

"For you see," He said stroking his beard, "the girl has been sold to a fellow over in Orre, but! He never specified whether or not she had to be pure! And boy, is she a suh-weet little thang!"

He knew Zaffre was fucked in the mind.

He could kill without batting an eye.

He hired prostitutes if he was feeling generous enough, or he just picked them up off the streets and had his way with them whether he paid or not.

Whether they were _willing_ or not.

But if Ash understood clearly, that girl in the cage...

A _child_...

It took all of his will power to not reach around for the handgun tucked beneath his armpit.

"And you my friend," Zaffre said placing a hand on the man in the centers shoulder, "Yoooou, have the honor of guarding my room! I'd like it if I wasn't robbed this very fine evening thank you sir, and thank you sir, and thank you sir!" With each repeat he nodded to each of his three armed men.

"Now off with you, because right now, I have a meeting with that little suh-weet heart!"

He watched as two of the armed men lead the way with Zaffre behind them, and then split off into two directions, while the one man remained behind stationed a few feet in front of Zaffres office door.

He had to act.

Now.

His left hand reached across his hip, and into his trench coat and wrapped around the stun-gun.

He only had one shot to take the guy out.

Only one because he wasn't fast enough to quick draw, and because of his phobia of fighting.

So he sat up from where he lay next to the woman, and opened his eyes, keeping them squinted.

With his other hand, he grabbed the empty vodka bottle and removed it from his pocket.

He figured from point blank range he could take two shots from an AK in the chest before being killed.

So he only had one shot at this.

He stood up, keeping his movements sluggish, and the stun gun concealed. He brought the bottle to his lips, took a step and tripped over himself.

He fell forward into the guard who was caught by surprise. Bumping into him, the guard turned the assault rifle away and brought up a hand to shove him back.

But before he was able to, Ash shoved forward into him, and drove the electroshock weapon into his midsection.

The guard convulsed, body shaking as Ash held the self defense weapon against him for a solid ten seconds.

He released, and the man collapsed to the ground, head cracking on the hard stone floor and opening a leaking wound on the side of his head.

_'So it does work...' _He put the stun gun back on his hip, and dragged the man next to where he had lain a few seconds before.

He looked at the woman who had no idea if what she saw had just seen had truly happened and said, "You should shoot this guy up, you won't believe the shit he'll do," in saying so, he took one of the needles discarded off to the side, saw it still had some remnant's of whatever drug had been in it, and slid the needle into the largest vain on the mans arm, and injecting the last of it's contents into his system.

He then took the AK, slung it over his back, and ran out of the room towards the cages.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The girl really was a sweet, suuh-weet! Little thing. Mmm, if he hadn't been given a pretty good sum of dolla dolla's, she'd be kept right there with him.

"Mmhm, she would," Zaffre said licking his thumb and running it across his eyebrows, "the suuuh-weet little devil she is!"

The girls parents had been trouble for him for the last few years, and not to long ago he had had enough!

Enough he had!

He gave them many warnings, but not once. Not ONCE! Did they come up and give him any sorts of payment in return for his services.

So he did what any sane man would do.

He cut their hearts out.

And took their suh-weet little daughter for himself as compensation.

And after the catastrophe which took place in Celadon.

No second rate whores would be fine enough to calm his wronged heart.

Mmhm, no way, no how.

He need something gentle.

Something suuuh-weet!

Pure!

The little girl would pay her parents debt, and right the sadness in his heart from their lack of profit during the robbery...

The old man Snow, that old SOB, just would not hand over the key!

He asked, he even said please! What a man he was to use manners in this day and age!

But nuh nope! Old man Snow just lied and lied. Saying he misplaced the key, that it was not on him at the moment.

No man would lose the key to over twenty million dollars.

So the pretty little thang down yonder corridor would soothe him.

That suuh-weet little gal!

Zaffre turned a corner, entering the soggy green holding cells, and turned his attention to the cage pressed right up against the wall along side the door.

Inside was his suh-weet will gal, all curled up in the back with those pretty noir locks hanging over her shoulders.

"Hey lil thang," He said wrapping his knuckles against the cage.

The girl jumped, head snapping up and looking at him with wide confused amber eyes. And then she shrunk back in the cage, pressing as far back against the bars as she could, her arms holding her legs tight to her chest.

Oh she wanted to play, how suh-weet!

"Well little lass, you're going to come on out of there and play with your ol' pal Zaffre," He said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a copper key, "we're gonna have a lot of fu-GUAHH!"

Pain lanced through his neck, a violent pulsating tremor which coursed through his body. Zaffre dropped the key, his body losing all feeling as he hit the ground unable to move.

"Not today you son of a bitch,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Ash dropped the cartridge from the stun gun, and set in a new one.

Reaching for his waist, he removed his belt, and bound Zaffre's hands behind his back.

He wouldn't be mobile for twenty minutes at best, he had held the stun gun against his neck for a solid twenty seconds.

That would be enough time for them to get out of the sewers.

But first, Ash looked away from the blue bearded man, and to the small girl and smiled, "This bad guy didn't hurt you did he?" He asked softly, reaching for the key Zaffre had dropped.

The little girl with amber eyes stared at him with wide eyes.

"I'm going to let you out of this nasty thing okay? But you need to be quiet if you want to get to safety alright? I'm going to get you home,"

Saying so, he undid the padlock, and opened the cage door, which groaned on rusted hinges.

Ash grabbed Zaffre by the scruff of his shirt, and dragged him away from the front of the cage, "Come on out, I'm not going to hurt you,"

She was hesitant, but slowly she crawled out of the cage, and looked around her surroundings.

"Good girl," He smiled, "now I need you to follow me alright, and keep quiet because we don't want any of the bad guys to see us,"

She nodded without a word, and Ash slung the AK-47 around to his front, "Now stay close,"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

He would drop the girl off at the Celadon Police station at the same time he dropped off Zaffre, which would hopefully allow herself to find her parents.

But for now, they moved slowly down the long labyrinths of corridors. Ash used the engravings to lead them towards the exit into the actual sewers.

Zaffre was dead weight, and he wanted to laugh at the fact.

It was amazing how one shock of electricity could take down even the most craziest of villains.

It made him wish that he had bought a taser or stun gun during his dealing days. He could have racked in a lot more cash had he done just that.

Behind him, well actually with both of her hands, the small amber eyed girl held onto his coat in a vice grip, scared that they'd be separated by some unlucky chance of fate.

So far things had been easy going for him.

He had taken out the first guard, stunned another while heading to the cages, and then had taken Zaffre into custody.

Well almost, they weren't quite home free yet.

Once they reached the forest he'd consider them home free.

Nearing the exit which led to the sewers, with a gut feeling Ash checked the safety on the assault rifle.

This was all going so smoothly, but why?

Glancing over his shoulder, he looked down the long corridor, but saw nothing.

Looking to the little girl, he said in a soft voice, "Come walk in front of me okay? If the bad guys show up, you won't get hurt. The big meanie here will," To prove his point, he shifted his grip on Zaffre so that Ash had his back protected by the man himself.

If they were going to shoot at him.

They'd have to risk putting bullets into their boss.

The little girl nodded and moved around him, grabbing hold of the flap of his jacket.

And then right as they were about to leave the stronghold, Ash heard the shout he'd been anticipating since the very beginning.

"THE BOSS IS BEING KIDNAPPED!"

Ash didn't turn to face who had shouted the words, instead dropped his hold on the AK-47 so that it hung from his neck against his chest, and scooped the small girl up with his free arm.

He owed Domino.

He owed her so much.

The only reason he managed to run down the remaining ten meters to the exit was because of the rigorous exercise routine she had put him through daily during the course of the last year.

Zaffre was dragged like a sack of potatoes, and the girl clung to him tightly.

And right as they were about to turn the corner, he flinched as the sharp _CRACK _of a gun banged through the corridors.

But the girl didn't make a sound, instead burying her head into his chest as he carried her across the first wooden makeshift bridge in the sewer, and down the slick and slippery floors.

Behind him, shouts became louder as more and more people started running towards them.

He knew the way more or less, and serpentine through the sewers towards a T-junction he knew would lead directly for the opening to the outdoors.

They moved down the left path, and Ash stopped running, and set the small girl down onto the ground, "We're almost out," He said softly yet urgently, they had maybe thirty seconds on the pursuers, "but I need you to run ahead for me, right down this tunnel and around the corner okay?"

She was shaking her head immediately, "I need you to be a good girl now, it's not safe here for you and it's going to get very loud."

She gripped his jacket and shook her head.

He grimaced, how could he expect a girl no older then five years old to run off by herself.

She had no idea where she was, she didn't have anything, except for him, the person who was looking out for her at the moment.

He dropped his hold on Zaffre, and reached into his trench coat.

He had bought something else, not just the black hoodie which he wore at the moment.

He pulled out a small rectangular black cardboard box and removed the lid.

Inside was a silver necklace, with a charm attached.

A silver tulip, with black accents in the grooves outlining the details.

He took the necklace from the box, and put it around the girls neck, "I need you to be brave," He said quietly, "and this necklace, it has the power to make you the bravest person in the world. The tulip is the symbol of strength, with it nothing bad can ever happen to you,"

She was staring at him in surprise, "So I need you to use the power given to you by the necklace to go on without me. I need you to be brave," He paused, "I'll be right behind you right after I play a quick game with the bad guys following us okay? I won't leave you, I promise,"

The shouts were drawing ever nearer.

"Will you go?"

She hesitated, but her small hands closed around the tulip charm, and she nodded, turning away from him and running for the other end of the sewers.

"Thank god," He whispered, checking the safety, and peering around the corner.

He had two clips for the assault rifle.

But above all else.

Would he be able to kill someone?

It was kill or be killed.

And...

And he couldn't, no he wouldn't allow himself to die here.

He still had to apologize to Domino. And should he fall here, that little girl would...

His face tightened, and he glanced to Zaffre who was still immobilized. The effects would be wearing off soon he knew however, so this firefight had to be fast.

He held the gun trained around the corner, and hoped to God he'd be able to aim properly.

Because he'd only fired a handgun.

And even then that had only happened a few times for combat training.

Domino said it was a fun skill to learn, and would teach him about patients and timing.

He wasn't a sharpshooter or anything.

But he could hit a target.

And then the first person came into view, a man naked from the waist up, running around the corner dangerously with an AK similar to his own.

His finger squeezed the trigger, and the gun bounced back into his shoulder as the gun cracked repeatedly.

Beginners luck?

Maybe, but he watched as the two bullets tore into the runners chest, and then as the man fell sideways, off the walkway and into the liquid muck.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Outside, rain showered down on the small amber eyed girl.

She was crouched behind a stone barricade, with her hands covering her ears as she peeked above the barricade and down into the tunnel she had run out of.

With each crack that sounded, she saw flashes of light flash along the walls within.

She hummed to herself, a song her mommy had sung to her when she tucked her in for bed.

She listened to peoples voices through her muffled hearing, sounding like they were crying, or screaming because they were scared.

She watched scared, waiting for the man with black hair to come for her.

She had the necklace, and she knew she'd be safe because of it.

The man had promised her after all.

She continued to watch, and soon she uncovered her ears as the loud sounding cracks, and flashes stopped within the tunnel.

She kept looking over the barricade, and waited for something to happen.

Then she saw someone in the tunnel, running towards her.

Ducking down, she shut her eyes tightly, and hoped that they would run right passed her, so that the man with black hair would come and get her first.

She heard the footsteps in the rain approaching her, and she shut her eyes tighter.

It sounded like someone sat down next to her, and to afraid, she kept her eyes closed.

And then she heard the man with the black hair, "You weren't scared at all now were you?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

His heart was hammering against his ribcage, and his arms were shaking as if he'd been outside in the snow naked.

The adrenalin rush.

He had never felt so alive before in his life.

He was terrified, he couldn't believe he had lived.

Six.

He had killed six people.

And then he scared them off, they turned tail and ran away.

Zaffre had regained some movement, so Ash had hit him over the skull with the butt of his rifle.

Everything was so...

So...

Different!

He'd deal with his guilty conscious later, when it actually decided to show up and let him know about the crimes he had just committed.

But for now, he dragged Zaffre with one hand, and walked with the small girl holding onto his other hand with both of her own.

He felt like he could pass out right then and there, in fact he was dead on exhausted.

But until Zaffre was secure on board the freight, and he was positive there was no way for the man to escape.

He wouldn't allow himself to rest.

They left Gringey City together, and into the forest once more.

The rain was chilling, and it helped cool his body temperature, which felt like he was about to spontaneously burst into flames.

By the time they had reached the lumberyard, night had fallen, and the moon had risen above the gray clouds which coated the night sky, and peaked through as if it were scared to fully show itself.

They crossed it without alarm, and reached the railway. Where he brought them to the freight he had initially arrived on.

He lifted the small girl up into the freight first, "Hold there little missy," He said, bending over to grab Zaffre.

He hauled the unconscious man to his feet, and then hefted him up and inside the freight.

When he was more or less in, Ash climbed in, dragged Zaffre against the far wall, and then shut the side door. Sealing them from the outside.

Ash took his bag which he had left behind when he first arrived, and removed rope which he had brought along.

He tied Zaffre up, in a knot Domino had shown him, a hog tie, and then left him alone.

And then he allowed himself to sit, pulling his bag over to him, and opening it up.

He took out a water bottle, undid the cap, and held it out for the small girl, "You drink up," He said softly, "I bet you need it more then I do,"

She came over next to him, and sat down beside him, taking the water bottle in her hands and taking a small sip.

As she did that, Ash rummaged through his belongings and hunted down the little food he had brought along with him.

It was sad, but he had the munchies.

If there was one downside to getting high, it was definitely, the fucking munchies.

And when you had little food on you, you were guaranteed a few hours of none literal pain until the sensation passed.

He found two energy bars, and undid the wrapper on each, before passing one over to the small girl.

She took it, and he watched as she ate it savagely.

He looked at his own, and held it out for the girl.

He didn't know how long she'd been kept in that cage, and he didn't plan on asking.

But she needed nourishment more than himself.

She shook her head at first when he offered it, but after persisting she ate it as fast as she had the first.

And then they sat in silence, them on one end of the freight, Zaffre on the other.

They had little light, except through the few cracks in the roof where moonlight spilled in along with the rain.

He looked at the small girl now, actually taking in her appearance.

Her hair, long and black was wet from the rain. Her face was round, and her cheeks still had traces of baby fat, although he figured in another year or so that would vanish. Her clothing was...

Inadequate, and he scolded himself for not taking notice sooner then he had.

She wore a dress, made of cheap fabric which would tear without even the slightest of effort.

Ash shrugged off his trench coat, and then unzipped his hoodie, revealing the ballistic vest.

He was surprised to see three crunched pieces of metal on the chest, and wondered just when he had been hit.

But he took his hoodie, and put it on the girl. Putting her arms through, and doing up the zipper, he said, "It's a little big," a little didn't even convey it properly. He guessed that if she were to stand, the hem of the hoodie would be a little bit over her ankles. And the arms of the garment over shot her own by quite a distance, "but you'll stay warm in this case,"

He pulled the hood up over her head, and leaned back against the wall of the freight, "You did good little miss," He said softly glancing at her.

She looked bundled up in the hoodie and he smiled, "it may not mean much coming from a stranger, but I'm proud of you for how you acted back there. You were really brave,"

He wanted to rest his eyes, but if he dared to, he knew he wouldn't awake for some time.

His eyebrow rose a second later as the small girl moved closer to him so that she was pressed up against his side.

She leaned against him, and he saw her eyes close beneath the hood.

"You did good kid, we'll get you home soon enough. Don't you worry."

* * *

**I won't say much, but last night while I was walking back home from 7-Eleven, an idea struck hit me like a brick.**

**I hadn't planned on using any major OC's for this story.**

**But...**

**What do you all think? This was a one sitting write, and I enjoyed doing it thoroughly!**

**So please please please! Let me know your thoughts in a review!**

**Tell me what ya love, or what you hate-**

**I put this at the end of each chapter, you understand where I'm going with that...**

**Anyways thanks all for reading! I'll get on next chapter soon as I can!**


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